


I'm Almost Me Again, He's Almost You

by thebeehive



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: M/M, Parallel Universes, The Price of Fame, Zayn Leaves One Direction, and in some One Direction isn't even a thing (gasp), but not in every universe, in some he stays, theoretical physics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-07
Updated: 2019-08-14
Packaged: 2020-01-06 10:56:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 51,373
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18387026
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thebeehive/pseuds/thebeehive
Summary: Interviewer:“What do you think is the cosmological effect of Zayn Malik leaving One Direction and consequently breaking the hearts of million of teenage girls across the world?”Stephen Hawking:“Finally, a question about something important.”Liam looked up from the video playing on his phone, not even listening to the rest of Hawking’s answer. He felt like he was having an out of body experience. He looked down at his other hand and carefully counted on his fingers: himself, Harry, Louis and Niall. That was it. Those were the only members of One Direction, and that hadn’t changed since the band’s inception on X Factor.Who the fuck was Zayn?(Or, where Liam searches across time and space for the answer to the question: Who the fuck is Zayn?)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Alternative title I almost went with:  
> Theoretical Physics and Other Great Romances of the 22nd Century
> 
> Actual Title from: Hozier - Almost (Sweet Music)
> 
> There is something about Ziam - their love seems to transcend the standard rules of time and space instituted by the universe at large.
> 
> Inspired by this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8s6P3Tu1QM

The choices we make change the path that we take  
But I know  
That somewhere out there there's a path that we chose  
There's a life that we share, there's a love and it grows  
-Zayn - Golden

 

Liam could not remember the last time he had a whole day ahead with nothing planned. He thought he would be thrilled, but - as usual - he found himself restless and itching to do something. The problem, Liam thought, about being on the go non-stop was that it became a habit. And on his days with nothing planned (very rare, as Liam always had plans of one kind or another) he found himself directionless, as much as he detested any usage of that word, ever. 

So Liam found himself, on a rainy Friday morning, with nothing to do. One Direction was between tours and the next album had been recorded - he might be called down to London next week for some final re-records, but the next week was his to do as he pleased. He had no fashion events, no charity gigs, no quick trips to another country, nothing; which is how he found himself at his parents house in Wolverhampton for a last minute visit. His parents, unfortunately, had to attend the funeral of a former elderly neighbor, leaving Liam alone for the day. 

Liam sighed. He had already woken up early and gone for a run and had breakfast, and now felt at a loss for his next move. He had driven up from London in his new car, and considered taking it out for more driving, but he was almost embarrassed by the damn thing…

He had made the impulsive decision last week to buy a very expensive, very fast Ferrari concept car - even more expensive and faster than the usual Ferrari - he didn’t know why. He already had a Ferrari, and this new one was possibly the most eye-catching, ostentatious thing he owned. And Liam owned a lot of watches. It had seemed like a good idea at the time, but now the ridiculous vehicle was parked in his parents' garage, and Liam was hesitant to drive it around town. 

Liam could really go for a smoothie of some kind though. He was contemplating whether he should bite the bullet and drive the flashy car to the nearest juice shop, when his phone buzzed on the table. Liam picked it up, it was probably Louis; they had been texting each other lyrics back and forth the previous night for a new song they were both working on (even though, as Louis reminded him, they had JUST finished the last album), and had been mildly arguing over word choices.

It was not Louis, it was a text from a private number. Liam frowned - no one should have this number that he wasn’t on a first name basis with. He opened the text. It was just a video, no label or title, and nothing else. Liam chewed his lip and sat up straighter on the couch he had been lounging on - he had a bad feeling about this, but curiosity won out, and he clicked play. 

The video opened on an interview already in progress. A man in a wheelchair was on a stage, answering questions being asked by another man that was standing next to him. The man in the wheelchair was talking through a machine? Computer? His voice sounded distorted. Liam realized he had missed the question. He started the video from the beginning, this time turning up the volume on his phone. 

Interviewer:  
“What do you think is the cosmological effect of Zayn Malik leaving One Direction and consequently breaking the hearts of million of teenage girls across the world?”

What? Liam stopped the video. The interviewer had said One Direction? Right? Liam looked around the room, but it was just his parents living room. Liam shook himself. Ok, once more from the beginning, he must be hearing things. Liam wondered if he'd fallen during his run and not realized it. He listened to the question again. The interviewer definitely said One Direction. 

The man being interviewed answered:  
“Finally, a question about something important.” 

Liam looked up from the video, not even listening to the rest of the man's answer. He felt like he having an out of body experience. He looked down at his other hand and carefully counted on his fingers: himself, Harry, Louis and Niall. That was it. Those were the only members of One Direction and that hadn’t changed since the band’s inception on X Factor.

Who the fuck was Zayn?

Liam rewound the video and watched it the entire way through this time.

The man being interviewed answered:  
“Finally, a question about something important.  
My advice to any heartbroken young girl is to pay attention to the study of theoretical physics.  
Because one day there may well be proof of multiple universes.  
It would not be beyond the realms of possibility that somewhere outside of our own universe lies another different universe.  
And in that universe, Zayn is still in One Direction.”

And the video ended after that. Liam stared at his parents television, which was mounted on the wall in front of him. The tv was turned off - Liam stared back at his own ghostly reflection, which looked just as confused as Liam felt. It was morning in Wolverhampton, and he was sitting on his parents couch, and he was Liam Payne. These were all facts, and Liam took comfort in stating each one in his head.

He watched the video again. He realized there were captions on it; Liam had felt so discombobulated he had missed it the first time, but this time he read the captions and took careful note of how Zayn's name was spelled. Liam went straight to Google, and then remembered something. He knew who the man in the wheelchair with the robotic computer voice was, but couldn't remember his name for the life of him - but he was a scientist of some sort, of that Liam was sure. He Googled, "scientist in wheelchair with robot voice" and millions of results for one Stephen Hawking came up. Liam felt like he should have known that name, but reading through his bio, he remembered hearing that Hawking had passed away several years ago. He then Googled - "Stephen Hawking talking about One Direction," but no results came up. 

Liam chewed his lip harder. He wasn't sure what he was doing, but he had to do SOMETHING. He tried searching for "Stephen Hawking and Zayn Malik," but no results for that either. He was about to search again when his phone buzzed - another text from a private number. Liam knew, he just knew, that it was from the same anonymous number. Dread pooling in his stomach, Liam opened his messages, and saw it was indeed from the same private number. He didn't know what kind of weird prank was being pulled on him, but Liam was going to tell off whoever the mystery prankster was.

This time it was not a video, but a simple gif. The image was of a man, sitting down, hands folded on his knees. The man had dark hair and the beginning of a beard and his arms were covered in tattoos. Liam could just make out half of Harry's curly head sitting next to the mystery man. The picture was captioned:

Louis describing Liam: strong, noble, perfect and -  
Zayn: [whispers] Brave.

Liam was immediately taken back to the interview - he remembered the boys sitting in a row on the floor on cushions; he remembered the screaming fans outside; and he remembered Louis putting his hand on Liam's knee, indicating he was going to answer the question seriously. Liam had sat through countless interviews over a span of years, and they all tended to blur together, but that one stuck out in his memory. And Liam remembered Louis's last word, which wasn't in the caption: warm. 

But the man in the photo was not in the interview, and certainly not in One Direction. Liam didn't know what he was looking at - if this was a prank he didn't understand fuck all what was trying to be accomplished here. He went back to Google and searched for "Zayn Malik." There were multiple results. Liam thought hard - he searched again - "Zayn Malik Britain." This time the top result was for a man who looked to live in Bradford. Liam clicked on the first link that contained an image. And there he was, it was the same man from the gif, only he looked to be somewhat older. The article was a local feature from a Bradford weekly about how the man - Zayn Malik - had used the money he made from a modeling job to help the school he taught at re-start their arts program. Liam scrolled down the article:

"I remember how much art helped me when I was a kid - still helps me," Malik said, who actually teaches in the English department. "And we haven't had an arts program in several years due to lack of funding, so, it made sense."  
When Malik is asked if he plans to leave teaching for a full time career as a model, he shakes his head and laughs.  
"No, no. Modeling is part time only. Teaching is where I belong, and intend to stay."

Liam felt even more confused. He looked back at the gif the private number had sent him, then back at the article's photo, which was a simple head shot. It was the same guy, of that Liam was certain, but in the head shot Zayn looked full on into the camera, not down at the ground like he was in the gif from the old One Direction interview. Fake gif from the interview, Liam reminded himself - it had to be photo-shopped or manipulated somehow. Liam didn't remember any of the teachers at his schools ever looking like that, he thought, as he looked at the wide, dark eyes framed by thick lashes, that stared back at him from the featured article. And what about the Stephen Hawking interview? What the fuck was that, Liam thought, and why would someone go through all that trouble to make a fake video?

He read through the article again; it mentioned that Zayn taught at Hanson Academy, a secondary school in Bradford. Liam looked at his phone's maps app - if he drove there, it would be a little over two hours to Bradford from his parents' house. Well, Liam smiled, probably less with the Ferrari, as long as he didn't get pulled over for speeding along the way. Liam wasn't one for impulsive decisions, or reaching out and interacting with any crazy or delusional fans, but something about a random English teacher with a passion for art pretending that he was in One Direction (or, someone else making it look like he was in One Direction, Liam thought), intrigued Liam. He looked at the picture from the article once more - those dark eyes drew him in. Liam shook himself. If he was going to get to the bottom of the mystery now was the time for action. Decision made, and already feeling better about having actual plans for the day, no matter how unusual or fruitless they turned out to be, Liam stood up. He'd better use the bathroom before his mini-road trip.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the comments and kudos to the first chapter! The encouragement is so motivating. :) I'm pretty excited about this fic.
> 
> Also, while the school Zayn teaches at is a real school in Bradford, the depiction of it here is entirely fictional.

Zayn’s day started off with his alarm failing to go off - which resulted in him cursing and falling out of bed, running to take a cold shower (was the hot water in his old building not fucking working again? Zayn was over it.) and not having a chance to grab anything to eat, or his beloved, and completely necessary, morning coffee. Because he was late he missed the first bus, and had to run two blocks in the opposite direction to catch the second bus. 

It was a beautiful, Friday spring day, but he really couldn't appreciate it. Zayn showed up to school with minutes to spare, feeling sweaty and out of sorts, before making it to his classroom. The students milled about outside the locked door, half asleep or on their phones. As it was the last day before the two week mid-spring break, Zayn knew their attention would be even harder to maintain than usual. 

 

Thank fuck, Zayn thought, that break was almost here. The second week would be full of teacher meetings and projects, while his students still had their freedom, but that first glorious week was his to do as he pleased. Zayn had a small print modeling job lined up, but it was for a small, online only men’s retailer, so he would only be in London for a day. Other than that he was free as a bird. 

Zayn had been feeling extra run down lately, but he couldn't parse why. He loved his students (most of them), felt affection for the run-down school he taught at (most days), and for the most part was content with what he considered his quiet, simple life of teaching, and a few close friends. Staying in Bradford had seemed like an easy decision when he graduated from uni; most of his family was still there, including his parents and younger sisters. He was very close to his family, and loved being able to see them whenever he wanted. 

Only Doniya, his older sister, had left Bradford for London, but she returned to visit frequently, and now that Zayn had started modeling a bit, he was down in London every so often for small jobs. He always stayed with Doniya when he was there, and she tried to convince him every time he visited to look for teaching jobs in London. The last time he had been down there the conversation had gone as well as it usually had.

“Zayn, just for a couple years, yeah? You can always go back, I just think it would be good of you to expand your horizons. You’ve never lived anywhere else, except for uni, and you’ve had the same friends your whole life.” Doniya was wearing her “big sister knows best” face, and while Zayn loved her, he also rolled his eyes and resisted the urge to smack her arm. 

They were sitting in her small apartment in London, and Zayn had been looking out the grimy window at the buckets of rain that were coming down. It always seemed to be raining when he made his trips down to London. 

“What’s wrong with Ant and Danny?” Zayn protested. “And besides, London is expensive as shit.”

“Which is why I live in this hell hole!” Doniya laughed. It really wasn’t that bad, but for what she was paying for it seemed like highway robbery to Zayn. She could have a nice house in Bradford with what she paid monthly for her apartment. But Doniya seemed happy with her choices. “Besides, you could stay with me. And Ant and Danny are fine - I’m just saying. I think it would be good for your to spread your wings.”

“I’m fine where I’m at. My life is in Bradford, Don. I don’t need to uproot. And besides, I’ve been traveling more lately, I’m down in London more than I ever was before.”

Doniya’s face softened. The superior sister look fell off, replaced by something more fond. “I know, it’s good to see you, I like when you come to visit. I just want you happy, yeah?”

Zayn looked down, twisting the thick silver ring he always wore on his right index finger. He looked back up to see Doniya watching him carefully. “I am happy. I just... “ Zayn sighed. “I don’t know. I never had, like, a quarter life crisis - maybe I’m having a delayed one?”

“Well, you’ll be thirty here in a couple years, save your crisis for then? Come on, let’s get some food.”

And that had been the end of that. Zayn knew Doniya would always be there to listen if he wanted to talk, but Zayn wasn’t even sure he knew what was bothering him. He thought the modeling would help - meeting new people, traveling a bit. And the people were surprisingly nice and the extra money even more nice - but somehow it had just been a temporary fix. Zayn felt restless, and the most frustrating part was that he couldn’t find the source or cause of the restlessness that permeated his day to day existence. It wasn’t dissatisfaction, exactly, but it was like he was waiting for something to happen. But Zayn couldn’t even tell himself what he was hoping that would be.

 

Zayn unlocked his classroom door and his students drowsily got to their feet from where they were slumped around the hallway. As he walked in towards his desk to drop off his messenger bag, he heard a couple students giggling. 

“Uh, Mr. Malik,” Marcella, a girl who talked too much, but was one of the smartest people Zayn had ever taught. “New shirt?”

“My shirt?” Zayn looked down, and then tried to stifle his groan of embarrassment. Zayn had spent the entire school year wearing solid colored, button up shirts. Usually in varying shades of black, grey, blue or green, but occasionally white and, when he was feeling bold, red. They were always long sleeved, in order to cover up all his tattoos. Not that his students would care, but the headmaster was an ancient old man with a conservative bent. Zayn honestly couldn’t wait for him to retire, which was rumored to be next year.

He had grabbed what he thought was a solid black button up. It was solid black, except for the front, which had the word TRUTH in large block lettering in white running down the front left side. How the fuck had he not noticed that when he was getting ready? God, he must be more out of it then he thought this morning.

“That one of them fancy modeling shirts?” That was Charlie, one of the football players. Zayn actually didn’t mind him most of the time, but ever since that damn article came out about his side gig of modeling, some of the students had taken to making comments. The girls, somehow, didn’t seem to make fun, it was mostly some of the boys. Zayn sighed, crossing his arms over his chest, even though that did nothing to hide most of the letters. It was, as Charlie put it, one of his “fancy modeling shirts” and Zayn couldn’t believe he was wearing it to school. He didn’t normally get to keep the clothes he wore on shoots, but the shirt had been part of a thank you package he had received for working with a new designer that was just starting out. Oh, well - on the bright side, Zayn thought, at least it said TRUTH and not something like SEX or GENOCIDE. 

Zayn thought the best approach was to pretend like everything was normal. 

“If everybody could take out their copy of The Time Machine, and Charlie?”

Charlie groaned, taking his punishment with a good-natured shrug.

“Why don’t you start reading to the class. Where we left off yesterday, yeah?”

Charlie opened his book and cleared his throat before he began to read. ““There are really four dimensions, three which we call the three planes of Space, and a fourth, Time.”

Zayn sat down behind his large, very old desk that faced his students, and opened up his own copy; the pages were filled with notes, written in his cramped handwriting, and shoved into ever blank half page and nook and cranny of white space. Zayn loved books, and while he didn’t love every book he taught throughout the course, The Time Machine was one he never failed to enjoy. 

Several hours later, Zayn found himself in the staff room. While he hadn’t time for breakfast, he had remembered to grab his pre-packed lunch. His sandwich somehow looked more sad and meager than usual, but Zayn was starved, so he was ready to make do. The worst tragedy was the broken coffee machine.

“What the fuck,” Zayn said softly, trying to convince the battered machine to heat water. The machine was not heating the water. No coffee, no tea, nothing.

“Just think, three more hours, and none of this shit hole for a week,” Rory, who taught in the math department, said reassuringly as he walked by as Zayn continued to struggle with the machine. Zayn was about to give up, when Sarah, one of the school admins, stuck her head in the door to the staff room.

“Uh, Zayn, you have a visitor?” Sarah looked frazzled, face red and short hair tousled, as if she had been running her hands through it. Her voice also seemed to be at a higher pitch than usual. 

“A visitor?” Zayn never had a visitor, in the five years he had taught at the school. His first thought was about his parents and sisters. “Is it my family? Is everything alright?”

“No, no, not any family. It’s… well, come see,” Sarah giggled. Everyone was staring at her. “Just come on, alright?” 

And with that she left and closed the door. 

“Uh, did everybody see that?” Rory looked at Zayn. “She honest to god giggled.”

Zayn had also never seen Sarah giggle. She was nice but very quiet, and kept to herself. What was happening today? And who the fuck was this visitor that was causing Sarah to show an entirely unseen side of herself? Zayn sighed. He was not prepared to face uncertainty on an empty stomach and an un-caffeinated brain.

“I’ll be right back. Hopefully. Don’t touch my sandwich,” Zayn warned Rory.

“Mate, no worries there,” Rory said, looking at the sad sandwich. 

Zayn sighed, again, and left the staff room, heading down the hall to the main office where reception sat. He started feeling anxious; he really hoped everything was ok with his family. When he entered the office, he looked around, somewhat wildly, for his visitor. The only person in the room was a man sitting in one of the uncomfortable chairs against the wall, the same chairs that students who were awaiting certain punishment sat. His head was bent down, looking at his phone. He looked up when the door shut behind Zayn. He was wearing a black hoodie and had wide set, kind looking eyes. He got to his feet and walked over to Zayn, who suddenly experienced a strong case of deja vu - where had he seen that face before?

“Hi, I’m Liam, and you must be Zayn,” the man said. He held out his hand, and Zayn, on auto-pilot, shook it. The hand was strong. Zayn felt his brain trying to catch up. 

“Liam,” Zayn repeated. He looked down at the their hands. He looked at the tattoo on the back of Liam’s hand - it was an eagle with its wings spread. He looked further down. Liam’s trainers were Nike Air Presto Off Whites. Zayn knew how expensive those were. He had tried on a pair at a shoot and liked them so much he decided to buy a pair, until he looked up the price and sadly lamented his teachers's salary. Suddenly, everything in his brain clicked. He remembered where he had seen the man standing in front of him.

“Liam - Liam Payne.” Zayn said. It wasn’t a question. “From One Direction. Liam.”

“Uh, yeah, that’s me. Nice shirt, by the way,” Liam smiled, giving Zayn a once over.

It may have been the lack of food and coffee, but Zayn was worried for a fleeting second that he was about to faint. 

“Can we go somewhere private to talk?” Liam asked. He waved his phone in the air. “I have something to discuss with you.” 

“Errrm. Ok?” Zayn didn’t know what was going on. What the fuck was Liam Payne doing, in Bradford, at Zayn’s school, wanting to talk to him. “Can we go to the nearest coffee shop?”

“Sure,” Liam said easily. “I’m parked out front, we can take my car.”

Liam led the way and Zayn followed in a daze, but not before he the admin, Sarah, rushed back into the room from the back offices. “Nice to meet you Liam,” she said breathlessly. “And thanks so much for signing.” She was holding up a post it note.

“A post it note?” Zayn couldn't help but scoff as they walked outside down the school steps.

“I think she panicked,” Liam laughed, not unkindly. His eyes crinkled up when he laughed. 

And then all thoughts of eye crinkles left Zayn’s mind; parked in front of the school (illegally parked, not in any sort of spot at all, part of Zayn’s brain noted) was the fanciest car he had ever seen in real life. Zayn didn’t know a lot about cars - shit he couldn’t even drive - but the sleek black car with red accents double parked in front of his school, and looking sorely out of place, was insanely sexy.

“Woah,” was all Zayn managed to get out.

“Uh, yeah, well. It was sort of an impulse purchase and I’m not sure if I should have gotten it. It’s a concept car you see, they haven’t actually mass produced them or anything,” and Liam somehow seemed rather embarrassed, cheeks slightly red as he avoided making eye contact with Zayn.

The car glinted in the afternoon sun. Zayn looked at Liam sharply. How could someone, a rich and somewhat famous someone at that, possibly be embarrassed about something like a car?

They walked down the remaining steps and Zayn watched Liam take out his keys and press a button - the doors opened, but of course they didn’t open like normal car doors, they opened to the side and up. Like bat wings, Zayn thought.

“Bat wings?” Liam sounded amused.

“Uh,” Zayn mumbled. He hadn’t realized he’d said that out loud. He really needed a coffee, as the combination of the rough start to his day, and then Liam appearing, and now the car, had thrown his carefully predictable life severely out of order. Was he really getting in a car with a stranger? A pop star, none the less, who wanted to talk with him? Zayn had a thousand questions on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn’t get anything out.

“Hop in,” Liam gestured, and Zayn took a deep breath, ducked under the raised passenger door, and sat down on the softest leather his ass ever had the privilege of touching. 

“Might want to buckle up,” Liam advised, as the doors lowered down. “The acceleration on this thing is a bit crazy.”

Zayn took another deep breath, and sunk back into the seat, gripping his knees and wishing vaguely for a cigarette. He didn’t know where he was going or what Liam wanted with him, but he realized that the restless feeling that had been hanging over his head the past year was suddenly gone, replaced by butterflies madly rattling his insides. He was ready for what was next. Maybe.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for continuing to follow along!

“What the fuck mate?” Louis said.

“I know, crazy shit, right?” Liam said, carefully down shifting. He was still getting the hang of his new car. Cruising down the back roads to Bradford traffic was sparse, but Liam knew the Ferrari was so smooth he could easily be going double the speed he thought he was maintaining; therefore, he attempted to drive with some measure of caution. He had sent Louis the mysterious video and gif, along with the link to the feature on Zayn’s donation to the school he taught at, with no explanation other than 'call me.' Louis had called him halfway through his trip to Bradford.

Liam looked at the speedometer and eased up on the gas. “Who would take the time to make fake videos and fake photos?”

“No, Liam,” Louis said, sounding exasperated through the crystal clear sound of the fantastic car audio system. “What the fuck are you doing?”

“Um,” Liam looked down at the screen on his dash, but Louis’ face wasn’t there to glare at, just his name and phone number and the words ‘call in progress.’ 

“I’m talking to you, mate? While driving to Bradford?”

“Yeah, no shit, but why?”

“Louis,” Liam started to get annoyed. “Have you been listening to anything I’ve been saying? I’m going to find this Zayn person and ask him what’s up. Why make the video? How the fuck did he get my number? And if he didn’t send it, who did? What is he playing at?”

“Yeah, no - I GET all that,” Louis said. “But you’ve been online. You’ve been on that Tumblr site - people make fake shit all the time. That was pretty tame, really. We’ve all seen the skeevy stuff out there. And the video - that guy talks through a computer - it’s probably easy to manipulate the audio. Why do you feel the need to track down this guy?”

“How the hell did he get my number? No one has this number,” Liam said. 

“Ok, ok - give you that one,” Louis said. “Pretty creepy. But, fans, and people who aren’t fans, can find anything, hack anything nowadays. It probably isn’t hard.”

Liam sighed. “I just - the photo whatever. The video, yeah, I guess it would be easy to mess with. But both of them being sent to my direct number, I dunno. It weirded me out.”

“Hmmm. And this has nothing to do with how attractive this teacher guy is?” 

Liam could literally picture the smirk Louis was no doubt wearing. He could practically hear it in his voice; it oozed out of every word.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Liam said airily.

“Ha, ok, keep telling yourself that, mate. All I’m saying is, what is your plan here, exactly? To burst through the gates of his place of employment, demand he speak with you, and then shake him down for answers?” 

That had been EXACTLY Liam’s plan, albeit in a slightly less dramatic fashion; count on Louis, he thought, to infuse everything with a ridiculous dramatic flair. Liam wasn’t one for shakedowns, but when he needed to, he knew he could step up. Or, he thought he could. He COULD, he scolded himself. 

“C’mon, don’t be ridiculous. I’m just going to pull him aside and ask him how he got my number. And then I’m going to leave after telling him he needs to never contact me again,” Liam said, satisfied with how mature and reasonable his approach was to a potential crazed fan. He didn’t need security or an assistant to handle things, he could take care of himself perfectly fine. 

“So, if I have this right,” Louis said, slowly - “You are driving several hours, telling this guy to bugger off, and then turning around and driving several hours back. When you could have just texted him back with a simple - lose this number?” 

“Well, I -” Liam realized his grave oversight. Fuck, why didn’t he try and text the number back? Had he been that distracted by a local write up on an insignificant teacher? (well, teacher slash model, his unhelpful brain added).

“Did you even try to text the number back?” Louis said. 

Liam could hear his exasperation through the phone. “No. No, I didn’t. But it’s a nice day for a drive, I didn’t have any plans. And I can sign something for him, yeah? Make his day?”

“Liam, mate. Now you want to fulfill the dream of a possibly obsessed fan by meeting him in person and signing something for him? Are you mental? Does anyone other than me know where you are?”

“Well, no but -” Liam realized he hadn’t thought this through. Which was SO unlike him. Where was his impulse control - he relied on that.

“Just be careful, yeah? No matter how much of a model this guy is, you don’t know his angle.” 

For all of his sometimes questionable, fun-loving behavior, Liam knew Louis was actually quite shrewd, although with a rather cynical bent, when it came to seeing through the motivations of others. And, while Liam was loath to admit it, he knew his own weakness when it came to wanting to impress people he barely knew, as well as his tendency to want to make everybody happy, fans or friends and family alike -whether or not they deserved his adoration or willingness to please. 

“I know. I’ll be careful” 

“Ok, mate. Text me if you need me, yeah?”

“Yeah. Thanks Lou.”

“Let me know how it goes. Bye.”

The call ended, and Liam was left alone with the long stretch of road ahead of him, the grey sky above him, and the whir of his thoughts, spinning over and over in his head with no resolution in sight. Hopefully one Zayn Malik would provide some answers. 

 

An hour and a half later and Liam still had no answers. 

He had boldly (foolishly, really) driven up to a rather run-down building, whose listing sign proclaimed Hanson Academy. He double parked, hopped up the school steps which had clearly seen better days, and charmed one school admin named Sarah, signing his name on a post it and telling her he was there especially to see Zayn, but SHHH, it was a surprise, and then patiently waited to meet the mysterious Zayn. He tried not to feel like a stalker himself while he waited; he reminded himself that Zayn, or an accomplice of some sort, had been the one to text him a fake video in the first place.

Well, Liam had one answer. Zayn’s picture, both the real one and the fake one, did not do him justice. He was probably one of the best looking people Liam had ever met in real life. And Liam had met his fair share of good looking people. It was the eyes, Liam thought, as they shook hands. They seemed to both catch and then reflect back all the available light in the room. 

For a teacher he was surprisingly sharply dressed, too, Liam thought, as he gave Zayn a quick once over, admiring the shirt printed with the word TRUTH down the front. A bold choice that Liam liked.

Zayn, for his part, looked like he was about to faint. Maybe he was a big fan, and this had all been some harmless fun. But Liam still didn’t think that excused Zayn from finding out his private number. 

Driving to the coffee shop, Liam looked at Zayn out of the corner of his eye. He gripped his knees tightly and looked straight ahead, his face pale and wan. He softly gave Liam directions to the closest coffee shop, but otherwise had asked no questions. Liam didn’t want to grill him for answers until he was on solid ground; he didn’t want to get worked up while driving.

The coffee shop only took a couple minutes to get to, luckily, so the strained silence didn’t last too long. Liam parked and climbed out of the car. The sky was still grey, and a chill had settled in air, spring time be damned.

“Uh, bro, you double parked,” Zayn said, getting out of the car and looking at the Ferrari that was stretched across two spots. 

“Can’t have anybody accidentally hitting the car if they park too close and open a door too wide, “ Liam explained. 

Zayn looked up at Liam and raised an eyebrow. “So you’re going to take up two spots then.” 

Zayn hadn’t phrased it as a question, but Liam felt compelled to answer anyway.

“Well it’s a concept car -” 

“So you already said,” Zayn cut him off.

“Well I can’t afford for anything to happen to the car…” Liam trailed off at Zayn’s disbelieving expression. “I mean, I can technically afford it, but the car’s brand new.”

Zayn just shook his head and headed into the coffee shop. Liam trailed behind him feeling like he’d been scolded. By a teacher, no less, he thought annoyed. Liam did not think he was better than other people, but it was a Ferrari! Ok, Christ, he thought, even in his own head he sounded like an ass. But he’d only had the car a week! Liam felt embarrassed and he did not like it. He didn’t even know Zayn, so why was he bothered?

Liam was so lost in thought he didn’t realize they were already up at the counter and Zayn was in the midst of ordering a coffee and a sandwich. 

“We’re together, one check!” Liam interrupted as Zayn reached into his back pocket for his wallet. Zayn turned, an annoyed look on his face. 

“It’s ok, Leeyum, I can pay for myself.”

Liam was stuck on how his name sounded with Zayn’s strong accent stretching out the vowels, until he saw Zayn reach towards the barista with his card in hand.

“No, I got it, I dragged you away from your work with no explanation,” Liam said as he tried to lean around Zayn with his credit card proffered to the bored, sleepy looking barista. 

“You should save your money for that fancy car of yours,” Zayn said, and deftly elbowed Liam out of the way, handing his card over to the barista, who suddenly looked wide awake and stared at Liam, eyes wide. 

“Liam? From One Direction? Oh my gawd,” the barista yelped. 

He held Zayn’s card in his hand, but made no move to swipe it. Liam gently hip-checked Zayn, pushed him to the side, grabbed the card out of the barista’s hand, and exchanged it for his own. He handed Zayn back his card and ignored his protests. Zayn glared, then stalked off to the counter where the drinks were handed out, where he continued to glare at Liam while he ordered his own drink and then took a photo with the excited barista. His glaring continued as the other workers came over to take photos. Liam obliged, as always, and begged everyone to wait to post the photos until after he departed the shop. 

By the time Liam’s drink was made, Zayn sat at a table in the corner and was half-way done eating his sandwich. Liam sat down next to him, careful not to jolt the uneven table. If Zayn was a super fan, Liam thought, he sure didn’t act like one. He seemed to think Liam was a pretentious git. 

Zayn was scarfing his way through the second half of his sandwich when he finally looked up at Liam.

“Sorry,” he said, mouth full. He took a sip of iced coffee and visibly swallowed. “Didn’t have time to eat and didn’t have any coffee this morning.”

“S’fine,” Liam said, taking a sip of his own coffee in a weak attempt to fortify his nerves. He pulled out his phone, and pulled up the mystery video. “This is why I came to meet with you today.”

“Did you drive all the way from London?” Zayn asked, his sandwich finished. He seemed in a better mood, and Liam hoped it would last.

“No, I was at my parents in Wolverhampton. Here, watch this.” Liam started the video and sat back, watching Zayn intently for any reaction, big or small.

Zayn watched the video in its entirety with no visible reaction or any comments. He played it again, first turning up the volume. He looked up at Liam. 

“I don’t get it,” he said slowly. “Why did you make a video using my name?”

“I didn’t make the video. It was texted to me this morning from a private number. And no one should have my number, not on this phone. They also sent me this.” 

Liam then pulled up the gif and pushed his phone back across the table to Zayn, who looked at the gif for a long time. He looked up at Liam, eyes catching the light, but brows furrowed.

“That’s me. But I wasn’t there. I didn’t say that? I don’t get it. Is this like a joke Liam? Am I being fucking pranked?” Zayn looked around, as if searching for a hidden camera crew.

Liam didn’t respond right away, watching Zayn still. His reaction SEEMED genuine, as if he had never seen the video and gif, and had no clue what this was about. And he didn’t seem like a crazy fan. Or even a fan at all.

“Do you like One Direction?” Liam blurted out. “I mean, are you a fan?”

“Um, like, not really?” Zayn shrugged. He had stopped searching around the coffee shop for the non-existent prank crew. “I don’t dislike you guys, just not really my type of music, you know?”

Liam felt oddly disappointed, but he shrugged it off. There were more pressing issues at hand.

“If you didn’t make these, do you know who did?” Liam asked.

Zayn shook his head. “No? I have no idea.” He looked back down at Liam’s phone. “This is a really good fake though. Did you try calling the number back?”

“Uh, it's private so I can't call it. ,” Liam said

"Did you try texting back?" Zayn asked.

"Uh, no," Liam said, feeling sheepish.

Zayn looked at him, cheeks hollowing as he took a long sip from his iced coffee. “So, you got these texts and drove all the way up here? Without even trying the number first?”

“Well yes,” Liam had driven to Bradford to confront Zayn, but now he felt like he just looked mildly unhinged. He took a sip of his coffee while he tried to formulate his next sentence. 

"Let's text 'em back then." Zayn said. He typed in Liam's phone, and then shoved it back to him. Liam read what he had sent:

'Who is this? How'd you get this number?'

"Simple and to the point," Zayn shrugged.

"Yeah, let's see if they respond then, whoever they are" Liam said. He wanted a response, but he also wanted to keep talking to Zayn.

They both sat there for a moment staring at the phone as if they expected an immediate response. When nothing happened for a couple minutes, Liam looked up from the remains of his coffee to find Zayn idly studying him.

“How’d you find me?” Zayn asked.

“When I googled your name this article came up,” Liam said, He pushed his phone back over, and Zayn click on the link to the article.

“Oh, that article,” Zayn said. It was his turn to look mildly embarrassed.

“You really donated your money from the modeling job to the school for an arts program?” Liam asked. “Impressive.”

Zayn cleared his throat before taking another sip of coffee. “It was actually my last five jobs,” he mumbled, avoiding eye contact and keeping all his focus on his coffee cup.

“Five?” Liam asked, surprised.

“Yeah, part-time modeling actually doesn’t pay that much. So, it was five jobs worth.”

“Well, still impressive. So what kind of arts program does five modeling jobs buy?” Liam smiled, winningly. 

Zayn didn’t smile back. “If by program you mean me taking on two additional classes a week during my free time, with the money just enough to cover art supplies for the remainder of the year, then yeah. We have a program again.”

Liam blinked. He looked at Zayn’s face - beyond the good looks, he saw the bags under Zayn’s eyes, and the tightness around his mouth. He knew teacher salaries weren’t big to begin with, and, while modeling was obviously very part-time work for Zayn, the fact that his second job could barely cover something he was passionate that his students should be exposed to, something he was funding with his own money, made Liam mad.

“What about music?” Liam asked abruptly. 

Zayn twirled his straw. “What about music then?”

“I mean, does your school have a music program? A band, or choir, you know?”

“No, that was all cut too. Art and music programs are usually the first cut - their budgets are larger.” Zayn sighed and took another sip of his coffee. “I wanted to start back up music too, but I don’t have the money for both, so I went with art. I like to sing, but I wouldn’t be able to teach anyone an instrument to save my life.”

Liam realized he had already made up his mind. “What’s the name of the headmaster?”

“Uh, Mr. Coveys. Leonard Coveys. Why?”

“No reason. Come on, let’s head back.” Liam got up to his feet quickly, his mind already racing a mile a minute on his new idea. 

“Uh, ok. But, like what about that video and gif? Who made them? Why use me?” Zayn said, trailing after Liam as he headed outside back to his car. Zayn frowned when he saw the car, still double parked, but didn’t say anything this time, which Liam was thankful.

“Dunno. We’ll probably never know,” Liam said. “But I need to talk to your headmaster - Coveys - if he’s available.”

“Liam, why?” Zayn asked, hastily buckling in as Liam turned out of the parking lot and headed back down the road to the school. 

“Gotta talk to him about reinstating the music program. And properly funding an arts program. You can’t do it all yourself, Zayn.”

Zayn looked at Liam like he suggested taking a trip to the moon. “Liam, in case you didn’t notice, our school isn’t exactly rolling in money.”

Liam rolled his eyes. “Obviously, which is why I’m going to help.”

“Help.” Zayn had turned fully in his seat now, staring at Liam over the state of the art console. “You mean with money?”

“Well, yes, what else would help to fund those programs?”

Zayn’s expression changed from one of disbelief to something softer. “You don’t have to do that. We aren’t a charity case, Liam, we’re a school.”

“Zayn, I’m literally in the music industry. I want to help kids who might want to do something with music one day. And even if they don’t, it’s like you said in the article - art helped you as a kid, well music not only helped me but changed my life. And I can afford to help, so let me, yeah?” Liam turned to look at Zayn, giving his best sincere look. Well, he was being sincere, he just hoped that Zayn understood that. 

“Well, if it’s for the kids….” Zayn said slowly. “You know, it’s funny; you might throw your money around, but - Liam, shit look out!”

Liam turned back to the road, too late, as he realized the light ahead was red and he was about to barrel through it. As if in slow motion, he saw the elderly woman making her way across the street. He slammed down on the brakes as hard as he could and swung the wheel sharply to the right. The car started to spin - he heard Zayn yell, and then grab his arm, which set off a chain reaction. Liam heard a roaring sound in his ears and everything flashed bright silver, so bright he had to close his eyes. Oh shit, Liam thought, oh shit. Then he heard a squeal of tires, felt Zayn grip his arm even tighter, and then everything went black.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I sound like a broken record, but the kudos and comments are seriously the most motivating thing ever!! Thank you all. Also, things start getting a little crazy in this chapter, let me know what you think!

Zayn slowly opened his eyes. He gingerly tested his limbs. They seemed to be attached and in working order. Good. He was sitting in the passenger seat of Liam’s car, gripping Liam’s arm, knuckles turning white from the strain. 

“The woman!” Liam slurred next to him. 

Zayn turned in his seat - Liam’s eyes were wide open and he was searching the road. 

“Over there!” Zayn said. Or tried to say. It came out more like “O’er thuuure.”

It sounded like his mouth was full of molasses.

“What the fuck,” Zayn tried again. This time the words came out at normal speed. What the fuck? He shook Liam’s arm, then released his grip. “Liam, she’s fine, she’s over there,” Zayn pointed down the street as the old woman ambled down the sidewalk, tote bags in hand.

“What the fuck was that,” Liam muttered. He looked rattled.

“Liam, she’s fine, we’re fine. The car’s fine. Nothing happened it’s all good.”

“But - the light. I saw a light, and I don’t know. Did you see it?” Liam turned to Zayn, wide brown eyes dazed.

“It was probably just the sun reflecting off a mirror or summat,” Zayn said. 

“What sun?” Liam asked, as he gestured to the dull grey sky outside the car window.

A loud honk interrupted them. 

“Ok, ok, I’m moving,” Liam said to the car that was impatiently waiting behind them. They were in the middle of the road. Liam pulled over to the side of the street and put the car in park. Zayn watched as he started patting down his pockets, and then unbuckled his seat belt to look underneath himself. “Where’s my phone?”

“I don’t know, bro, it probably fell underneath the seat just now.” Zayn was impatient to get back to school. He felt exhausted, like he had just run a mile instead of sitting in a coffee shop. Must be the adrenaline from the scare of almost running over that woman, he thought. 

“No, I keep it in my pocket. At all times.”

“Did you leave it at the coffee shop?”

Liam frowned. “Maybe? Do you mind if I call it from your phone real quick to see if it’s in the car somewhere?”

Zayn sighed. Whatever got them back the fastest. He had enough excitement for one day. “Yeah, here,” he unlocked and then handed over his phone.

“Is that your family?” Liam asked, looking at Zayn’s background picture before dialing. 

“Uh, yeah, me sisters.”

“Nice. They’re very pretty. Are you close with them?”

Zayn fidgeted with the ring on his index finger, twisting it around and around, as he looked at his phone in Liam’s big hand. He realized the eagle tattoo on Liam’s right hand had empty banners below the bird. Zayn wondered what Liam meant to fill them with. Or maybe he preferred them blank for a reason? “Pretty close, yeah.”

“It’s just ringing and ringing. It’s not going to my voicemail.” Liam said. "I don’t feel it vibrating anywhere. Do you mind if we go back to the coffee shop? Just real quick, I swear.”

Zayn sighed, for what felt like the umpteenth time. What a day. “Yeah, yeah, fine.”

They were back at the coffee shop in no time. Liam double parked again, but this time he parked at the far back end of the lot, where all the rows were empty, with no chance of taking someone else’s spot.

“Better?” he asked Zayn. He had a smug, proud little smirk on his face. He looked, Zayn thought, like a toddler who had used the toilet all by himself and was awaiting his treat for a job well done. Zayn shook his head in exasperation.

“Now we have to walk further?”

“But we’re having so much fun, Zayn!”

Zayn just rolled his eyes. He stood to get out of the car, and almost fell over. His legs felt like wet noodles. He looked over at Liam, who looked like he exerted himself just leaning against the side of the car. 

“Do you feel-” Liam panted. 

“Like my legs are about to collapse?” Zayn wheezed out.

“Yeah. What the fuck mate? What the fuck is going on?”

“Adrenaline dropping off?” Zayn voiced his earlier thoughts.

“Maybe,” Liam said doubtfully. They stared at each other over the roof of the car, both leaning against the vehicle for support. Liam broke eye contact first. “Ok, think I’m good to walk. Slowly.”

“Should have parked closer bro,” Zayn said, groaning as he pushed off the car and cautiously walked next to Liam as they made their way across the parking lot. 

Once inside, Zayn saw the coffee shop was empty except for a sole patron who sipped coffee and read a book at the table him and Liam had sat at. They walked over, and Liam politely asked the man if he could get up for a moment so he could search around and underneath the table for his phone.

“Sure, I need a refill anyway,” the man said, as he put his book down and walked over to the front counter. Zayn noted that the baristas were not the same group that took photos with Liam. Must of had shift change, Zayn thought vaguely. 

Zayn looked down at the table at the book the man had been reading. It was a small, battered paperback tome titled “Breaking the Tenth Dimension: Theories in Time and Space.” Zayn leaned closer to the book to read the author names underneath: Dr. Liam Payne and Dr. Zayn Malik. 

“What the fuck.” Zayn said, grabbing the book. “Liam - Leeyum, get up here.”

Liam popped up from underneath the table, “Zayn, what-”

“Look at this shit, what the fuck is going on,” Zayn hissed, waving the book around. 

“Zayn leave the guy’s book alone, I can’t find my stupid phone-” Liam was cut off as Zayn grabbed his wrist to get his attention. Before he could say anything, Zayn saw a bright flash of silver - so bright he had to close his eyes. He felt his legs give out, and then everything went black.

 

Zayn came to and opened his eyes. Deja Vu all over again, a part of his brain whispered. The rest of his brain felt like it was underwater. Zayn tried to sit up from where he lay prone on the sticky floor of the coffee shop. He still held the book in his right hand, and he held Liam’s hand in his left. When had he grabbed Liam’s hand? Liam groaned from his spot on the floor next to Zayn. He also tried to sit up, but quickly gave up. He turned his head towards Zayn.

“Zayn? You ok? What happened?” Liam’s voice came out slurred again, just like it had after the car had almost spun out.

Neither of them had let go of each other’s hands, Zayn thought somewhat hysterically. He was lying on the ground next to Liam Payne from One Direction, they were holding hands. And he had surely missed his first class of the afternoon and he was going to be in trouble with his job, and he needed to get back. Zayn took a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves; he felt like his heart was about to pound out of his chest. Having a panic attack right now wouldn’t solve anything. 

“I don’t, I don’t know.” It came out as, “I dun, I dunno.” Zayn took another deep breath, held it for a second, then did a long slow exhale. He tried again and his voice sounded almost normal. “Liam, I don’t know what elaborate fucking game somebody is playing with us. Look at this.”

He held the cover of the book in front of Liam, who read the cover and then stared at Zayn. 

“What the fuck?” he said hoarsely. “First the video, then the gif, now a book? Who the fuck is doing all this?”

"I don't know. I have no fucking clue." For lack of anything else he could think to do, Zayn flipped the book over. “Let’s see what the back says.”

On the back of the book the following was printed:

WHEN TRAVELING THROUGH THE MULTIVERSE:

1.Don’t panic! (And don’t forget your towel).  
2.When jumping through a higher dimension into a new braneworld, your body will be depleted. Drink Lucozade! Lucozade aids recovery!  
3.ANYTHING is possible, and not only in the TENTH dimension. Truth is, after all, stranger than fiction.  
4.There may be an infinite number of universes, but there is only one you! Free will may well be an illusion, but at the end of the day, the choices we make change the path that we take.

“Lucozade?” Zayn said. “What the fuck. Is. Going. On.”

The back of the book didn’t make any sense. Zayn let go of Liam’s hand. He managed to sit up, slowly, slowly, and tried to push himself up to a standing position, using the edge of the table next to him to pull himself up. He could barely stand up, and felt like his entire body was limp; it was much worse than it had been outside when he had to lean against the car for support. He looked down at Liam, who had managed to get himself to a sitting position.

“I feel so weak,” Liam said. His hands were visibly shaking as he grabbed onto the leg of a nearby chair. 

A Lucozade wasn’t exactly what Zayn wanted. His bed, and a fresh start to his bizarre day, was closer to what he really needed, but what the hell. It couldn’t hurt. Nothing was really making sense anyway. Zayn felt like he was just operating on instinct at this point.

Zayn gently tossed the book onto Liam’s lap, and then carefully put one leg in front of the other, testing out his strength, and slowly walked towards the cashier and the display fridge in the front of the store - he felt like he was walking through water, and it was slow progress. Had he ever had any energy in his life?

As if the universe had answered his unspoken prayers (Ha! Zayn thought weakly), not only was there Lucozade in the case, but his favorite flavor, pink lemonade, was fully stocked.

Zayn managed to grab two, but lifting the bottles up to the counter took a Herculean effort.

The barista just stared at him impatiently. Zayn swore it was yet another barista, and not the one who had been at the counter just a couple minutes ago when him and Liam had both - gone down? Got knocked out? He didn’t even know how to describe what the fuck had just transpired. And for that matter, he thought, swiveling around to take in the shop, empty except for Liam, where did the man with the bizarre book disappear to?

Zayn paid for the drinks and made his way back to Liam, who was still on the floor He was looking at the book. 

“Look at the author picture,” his voice was weak but had a high note of panic in it. 

“Ok,” Zayn said, “But drink this,” Zayn shoved one of the bottles at Liam, took the book out of his hand, and sat down heavily in the nearest chair, as he took a swig from his own bottle. The cool, sugary liquid seemed to calm him down. 

At the bottom of the back cover was a tiny author picture. Zayn was too numb to be shocked to see the picture was of himself and Liam, older and both of them with full beards, arm crossed and leaning back to back, facing the camera and both wearing cheesy smiles. 

Underneath the picture was the following description:  
Drs. Liam Payne and Zayn Malik, both graduates of the University of Phoenix doctoral program in Tenth Dimension studies, are experts in the fields of both multiverse theory and interdimensional braneworld travel. They are life-long research partners, friends, and roommates.

“Roommates?’ Zayn said, baffled.

“And they were roommates,” Liam muttered.

“What a weird thing to put in an author bio.”

“It means - uh, it implies. They are probably more than friends.”

Zayn narrowed his eyes. “What?”

“When people say it like that, it means they’re probably together.”

“Or they could just be roommates?” Zayn said.

“You haven’t read a lot of fanfiction, have you?”

“No. You have?”

“Well.”

“Wait, have you read fan fiction about yourself?” Zayn tore his eyes away from the author photo. It looked like him and Liam - or the photoshopped version of him and Liam? - were in a cheesy sitcom. He couldn’t take that pose seriously. 

Liam tilted back the pink bottle and finished the sugary drink; Zayn watched his throat swallow, and then he looked up to see Liam watching him. Liam mumbled something incoherent, then said, in a clear voice, as he slowly stood to his feet, “C’mon, let's get you back to school. I still want to talk to the headmaster. Or, at least set something up. And I think that drink actually helped me feel better.”

“Ok,” Zayn said. He tucked the book under his arm; the owner hadn't returned, and Zayn figured they needed the book more than that guy did. He followed Liam outside. The car was in the same place they had left it. Zayn didn’t know why, but that made him feel a bit better. His grasp on reality may have been tenuous at best at the moment, but the car was real and solid and somewhat of an anchor.

“And what do they mean by don’t forget your towel?” Liam asked, opening up the bat doors and sliding in.

“Oh, that’s from Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.” Zayn was glad to be back on familiar ground. Books he knew.

Liam shrugged at Zayn as he started the car. “What’s that?”

“It’s a book - the characters travel in space and are supposed to bring a towel with them -wait, hold on, can you stop real quick-” and before he was even conscious of what he was doing, Zayn got back out of the car, right in front of the coffee shop, and went back inside.

“Uh, just these” he said, grabbing the remaining six bottles of the pink Lucozade out of the open display fridge. “Do you have a bag?”

“We’re out of bags,” the barista drawled.

“Really?” Zayn said. This was just not his day. And that, he thought, was the under statement of the year.

The barista just looked like he couldn’t be bothered to care, and rang him up.

Liam looked at Zayn carrying all the bottles when he got back in the car. “Thirsty?”

“Just in case,” Zayn mumbled. “They were out of bags. Do you have something I could put these in?”

“Uh, yeah, just empty out that backpack behind you. It’s just an extra set of gym clothes.”

Zayn reached behind his seat and grabbed a Louis Vuitton backpack. Of course. Zayn shook his head. Opening up the backpack, he had an idea.

“Uh, can I keep the clothes in and kind of wrap them around the bottles, so they won’t clink together?”

“I guess,” Liam said. “Are you gifting these to me or summat?”

“I just thought. I don’t know.” Zayn didn’t really answer the question, but proceeded to tuck the bottles among the clothes. Satisfied, he zipped the bag back up, then carefully stuck the book in the outer pocket of the backpack, before putting the bag down next to this feet. Liam gave him a strange look, but quickly returned his attention to the road.

Zayn felt better, somehow, knowing they had backup bottles. Backup to what? I'm fucking losing it, he thought to himself, I am officially off my rocker. He had never looked forward so much to returning to work.

They pulled up to the school and Liam double parked right in front of the steps leading up to the entrance, but Zayn didn't care at this point. 

"Ok, I'll walk with you back to the office, yeah?" Zayn said as they walked up the steps. "And we'll see if Coveys is in, but then I have to get back to my class, so I won't be able to stay with you when you talk to him."

"That's fine, I hope he's in. I want to get his acceptance right away so I can start making some calls to get the music program up and running," Liam said. "And of course, getting more funding for the arts program, as well."

"He can be a bit of an old grump," Zayn said, lowering his voice as Liam held the door open for him as they entered the building. "You just have to ignore it."

"Sure, sure," Liam said.

When they walked into the front office, Zayn saw Sarah shuffling papers.

"Hey Sarah, is Mr. Coveys in his office?" Zayn asked.

Sarah looked up and froze. Her eyes widened comically, and her mouth dropped open into a small 'o'.

Zayn was impatient. "Sarah, you already met Liam, of course, he wants to have a moment to chat with Mr. Coveys, is he in?"

Sarah's mouth moved but no words came out.

"Sarah?" Zayn was bewildered. 

"Oh my god. Oh my god. Hi. Hi. You're Zayn. And you're Liam. Liam and Zayn. From One Direction. I can't believe - oh my god. I can't believe it's you. I never thought I'd meet you. What are you doing here? Why are you at Hanson?" Sarah's voice had progressively gotten squeakier, and she started to slightly vibrate with excitement. 

"Sarah, what are you talking about?" Zayn said, but he had a dreadful feeling in his stomach. "Sarah, it's me! Zayn. You've worked with me for three years? I teach here?"

Sarah laughed. "You are so funny, so funny. Teaching here, what an idea. Zayn Malik, from One Direction, teaching HERE, at Hanson. Do you mind signing something for me?" She grabbed the nearest post it note off the counter and frantically waved it in the air.

Zayn turned to Liam, feeling helpless, but Liam looked just as panicked as Zayn felt, frozen to the spot and eyes wide.

"Sarah, come on, you know me! I'm a teacher here!"

Sarah wasn't listening. "Do you mind if I get a photo with you guys?"

Zayn was out the door and running down the hall towards his classroom before he could even take a breath. His pulse pounded in he ears and he had broken out in a cold sweat. Was he dreaming? Was this one of those nightmares he couldn't wake up from?

He opened the door to his classroom - the same classroom he'd had ever since he came to Hanson - and Zayn didn't recognize anything. He didn't recognize the teacher at the front of the class, and he didn't recognize the students and he didn't recognize the walls that he had painstakingly spent his summer breaks decorating.

"Can I help you?" the teacher, an older, stuffy type, asked as he paused in his lecture and pushed the glasses up his nose.

"I thought, I didn't know-" Zayn panted, feeling dangerously close to losing his proverbial shit.

"Oh my god," a girl in the front of the class squealed, who was looking at Zayn intently. "That's Zayn. Zayn Malik from One Direction."

"I'm not, I'm not him. I'm not..." Zayn said weakly, but no one could hear him.

The floodgates opened as the class all started talking at once.

"Zayn?"

"Oh my god, it is Zayn."

"He's so short."

"He's even hotter in person!"

"Who's Zayn? What's One Direction?"

"Don't play dumb Michael, I know you listen to One Direction secretly!"

"Class, quiet down, quiet down! Sir, you need to leave, you are disrupting the lecture."

Zayn tuned out the voices and the chatter, and grabbed onto the doorway for support, so overwhelmed and confused that his head felt light and he started to see spots swim in his vision. Suddenly there was a firm hand on his shoulder and Liam's voice in his ear. 

"Zayn come on, it's ok, come on. We gotta get the fuck out of here." 

He couldn't let go of the doorway. The doorway was the only thing keeping Zayn from flying apart into a million pieces. 

"Zayn come on," Liam's voice was urgent; he pulled Zayn by the shoulder and turned them away from the classroom, jogging down the hallway back towards the entrance. Zayn focused on Liam's hand on his shoulder; it appeared that Liam was his only hope to guide him out of this nightmare he was currently stuck in./p>


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The enthusiasm for this story has made me so happy! I love seeing everyone guessing/anticipating what will happen next. Things are only going to get crazier from here on out. :)

The only reason Liam wasn’t having a breakdown was due to Zayn having a full meltdown right next to him. While Liam didn’t always hold it together himself, when the people around him were falling apart, it was his time to shine. Unbidden, a line from a poem he must have read in school came to mind, “If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs...” Liam felt proud, as books and poems had never been his thing - he wanted to share the line with Zayn; but looking down at Zayn, who leaned against the Ferrari outside the school while gasping for breath with his arms raised above his head, he knew Zayn wouldn’t really appreciate Liam’s unexpected recall at this moment.

“Zayn, deep breaths ok?”

Zayn turned, glaring at Liam, while continuing to attempt to regulate his breathing. Liam watched his chest rise and fall while Zayn stared straight ahead. He took one last big inhale, held it, then slowly exhaled.

“I’m ok, I’m ok.”

Liam wasn’t convinced. “You sure?”

“Well, no, I’m not sure. Is my whole fucking school in on this prank?” Zayn lowered his arms and put his hands on his hips. He looked back up the steps towards the school; the large brown building sat there, a sad looking fortress against the grey of the sky. Zayn looked defeated.

“Zayn, listen-” before Liam could spout any empty platitudes, the front doors to the school burst open and a large group of students spilled out. 

“There they are!” one yelled. As if on cue, the students whipped out their phones and started taking pictures.

“It’s Liam and Zayn!” they cried out.

“Shit, shit, Zayn get in the car!” Liam said, running around to the other side of the car while fumbling for the button on the key chain in his pocket to open the doors. No matter what was happening, he knew any photos of him with Zayn at the school were a recipe for disaster.

The students yelled louder when the Ferrari doors dramatically raised up.

“Sick car bro!”

“What the fuck kind of Ferrari is that?”

“Why’re you guys at our school? Is there a surprise concert?”

Liam shut the doors the moment he saw him and Zayn were fully inside, then he started the car up, driving out of the school parking lot as fast as he could. He couldn’t hear the students anymore, but he looked in the rear view mirror to see some of them running after the car.

“Fuck,” he groaned. That couldn’t be good.

“Jesus,” Zayn whispered in the seat next to him. “What the fuck. What the fuck. This isn’t a prank, is it?” He turned to Liam, eyes wide. 

“I don’t know. I don’t- I don’t know what the fuck is going on either. But we’ll figure this out, yeah?”

“I’m calling my mum,” Zayn said, pulling his phone out of his pocket. He looked at it, pressing frantically at the top. “It’s dead. It’s fucking dead. Are you fucking kidding me? What percentage was it at when you used it to call your phone?”

“I don’t remember, sorry,” Liam said. He WAS sorry. He wanted to reassure Zayn, but he was trying not to panic himself. “My charger doesn’t work on phones that old-”

“Of course not,” Zayn muttered.

Liam pretended he didn’t hear him. “Do you want to go back to the coffee shop to-”

“NO,” Zayn was emphatic. “Not that coffee shop. Anywhere else.”

“Ok, ok. Well, let’s think. Your phone is dead. My phone is fuck knows where.”

“My parents' house - can we go to my parents house? It’s not far from here?” Zayn asked.

“Of course, good idea, we can go there, regroup, then figure out - “ Liam was suddenly interrupted by a loud electronic voice.

“You have an incoming call, accept or decline sir?”

“What the fuck was that?” Zayn said. “Is that your car?”

Liam was flummoxed - the screen on the dash said “Incoming Call”. “Yeah, but I don’t have my phone, so how am I getting a call?”

“I took the liberty of downloading all your contacts, then updating them with your new number, and re-routing all your calls through me. You don’t need a phone as long as I’m turned on, sir.” The electronic voice spoke in a flat, toneless intonation. Liam felt like he was going to have a heart attack.

“What the fuck. Is your car alive?” Zayn asked, staring at the screen on the dash. . “Is it sentient?”

“Accept or decline the call, sir? It’s Niall.”

“Accept?” Liam said weakly, hands sweating on the steering wheel. He really didn’t know anything anymore.

Niall’s voice came through the speakers. “Liam, mate, what the fuck is going on?”

Liam heard Zayn whisper in the seat next to him, “Niall? From One Direction?” and he had to smile to himself. It was also good to hear a familiar voice, Liam thought. Niall was a no-nonsense presence, exactly what he needed right now when the very fabric of reality seemed to be melting all around him. Then Niall’s words caught up to him.

“What do you mean what’s going on?” Liam said. Even to his own ears he sounded like he was about to swallow his tongue.

“You literally just texted me a photo from the Maldives- and then I get on Twitter and people are freaking out that you and Zayn are in Bradford? At a fucking school? There’s photos everywhere? And did you get a new car? What is going on?”

“Listen Niall, shit is happening - I AM in Bradford. Why would the fuck would I be in the Maldives? And wait - how do you know Zayn?”

“Liam, are you trying to be funny? Is this a fucking joke?” Niall said. Although it came out more like ‘fooking’ and he didn’t sound happy.

“Niall, listen to me!” Liam felt like he was losing the last of his patience. He was driving, he couldn’t have a meltdown just yet. He didn’t even know where he was going, he had just been aimlessly driving through Bradford. “There is something seriously wrong with everyone, and I don’t know what is happening!”

“Is Zayn with you Liam? Are you drunk?”

“I’m here, I’m Zayn,” Zayn said. Liam turned to him, and he knew his eyebrows were raised to his hairline. Zayn just shrugged.

“Zayn, tell your boyfriend to lay off the gin and juice, yeah? I don’t know what he - or both of you - are up to. But management is going to be on your asses if you’re just showing up at random schools and causing panic!”

Liam, slowly, carefully, so as not to drive off the road, turned into the next parking lot, which happened to be a McDonalds, pulled into a space and put the car into park. He took a deep breath.

“Boyfriends?” Zayn said, looking at Liam with an eyebrow raised.

“Niall,” Liam said, at a more deliberate pace than he normally talked. “Do me a favor yeah?”

“Of course.” Niall’s voice said through the speakers, echoing through the car.

“Tell me who’s in One Direction.”

“Liam, stop fucking with me, I swear to God-”

“Niall please. Please!” Liam may have yelled that last please. He took a deep breath. “Just humor me, yeah? Please tell me. The name. Of everyone in the band. Please?” His voice cracked on the last please.

“Mate. I’m going to fucking punch you when I see you next. Ok. Me. Harry and Louis. You and Zayn. That’s it. You satisfied? You going to go sleep this off now?”

Even though the car was in park, Liam realized he was gripping the wheel so tightly his fingers were starting to cramp. He let go of the wheel and turned to look at Zayn, who was watching him warily. They looked at each other for a long moment. 

Liam watched Zayn turn to look at the dash screen again. “Uh, Ni-Niall,” Zayn said, tripping over the name. “What photo did we send you from the Maldives?”

Niall’s voice sounded exasperated. “A photo of the two of you being all cuddly and gross on the beach, the usual. You should know. You guys texted me the DAMN photo. You only flew there yesterday. Well, I thought you did. I don’t know what you’re trying to pull here.”

Liam had a thought. He reached across the console down to where his gym backpack was on the floor of the car next to Zayn’s feet. He reached into the front pocket, where Zayn had last put it, and grabbed the book from the coffee shop, the book that had himself and Zayn as the authors, as impossible as that was, and flipped it over to look at the author picture on the back again. He looked at the photo for a long moment.

“Niall. Do you think.” Liam started. “Do you think. That there are other universes?”

“What? Liam, I seriously don’t have the time right now.” 

“Where are you?” Liam asked. He realized this was the kind of conversation one needed to have in person, not on the phone. Or through his improbable car phone. Or just car, really. 

“In London, staying at The Athenaeum hotel, why?”

“You going to be there for a while? Have any plans tonight?”

“Here for the next two days. Nothing going on tonight.” Niall said.

“Ok, we’re coming to you, we’re driving from Bradford.”

“So you ARE in Bradford? That will take like-”

“About three hours,” Zayn spoke up. 

Liam looked at the car’s clock. “We should hit London about four, depending on traffic.”

“Ok, I’ll call downstairs and tell the front desk to expect you guys. And be safe driving, yeah? You swear you haven’t been hittin’ anything?”

“Swear it, Nialler. See ya in a bit mate.”

“Bye Payno, bye Zayn.”

The call ended, but Liam didn’t move right away, too lost in thought. So Niall not only thought Zayn was in One Direction, but that he and Liam were boyfriends who were serious enough to go on trips to the Maldives together? Had the whole world gone crazy - except for Liam and a random English teacher from Yorkshire - was the rest of the universe playing a cosmic joke on him?

“Leeyum,” Zayn said softly next to him. 

“Why you?” Liam said abruptly. He turned to the man who had been a stranger just a few short hours ago. Liam had now almost got in a car accident and blacked out with Zayn twice, as well as seen him have a panic attack. And yet what did he really know about Zayn beyond what he’d read in the article? Beyond his long eyelashes and propensity for buying Lucozade in bulk, apparently. 

“Why out of everyone on this planet, why you? Who are you really, Zayn?”

“Why me?” Zayn tilted his chin up, his eyes turning dark. “Why the fuck am I stuck with you? I’m normal. You’re the bloody pop star. You drove all the way to my town, to my job - just to track me down. You came looking for me!”

“Because someone is pretending you're in my bloody band! And apparently we’re together? And now it’s gone beyond pictures and videos. Now it’s a book and everyone else being in on the joke! I just-” Liam groaned and put his face in his hands, rubbing his eyes. “I’m sorry. I just - I don’t know what’s happening. I feel like I’m going crazy.”

“And you don’t think I feel the same way? My classroom- Liam, my fucking students and my classroom weren’t the same and Sarah in the office didn’t recognize me and… people think I’m in One Direction? People IN One Direction think I’m in One Direction. How the fuck do you think I feel?”

Liam lifted his head up, and looked at Zayn, who sat there, arms folded across his chest and slouched down in his seat. Liam could only see the letters ‘TR’ and the first half of the ‘U’ on his TRUTH shirt. The truth Liam thought - now there’s something he would like right now in terms of what was going on. Ok, action time or he was going to sit here and go crazy, or keep yelling at Zayn, and he didn’t want to do either of those things. Liam realized that Zayn was his tether to sanity right now. It was just them against the world. 

“Zayn, I’m sorry.”

Zayn shrugged, arms still crossed, and looked out the window, avoiding eye contact with Liam.

“Zayn, listen,” Liam said, trying to gentle his voice as much as possible. Zayn finally turned in his seat, arms still crossed, and made intense eye contact. Liam cleared his throat.

“I know we just met, but whatever is going on, we have to stick together, yeah? I didn’t mean to accuse you of anything, I know this isn’t easy for either of us. And I can’t imagine how everything back at the school… well I can’t imagine. Let’s get some McDonalds, and get to London. Niall will help us figure this out, I know he will.”

“He thinks I’m in your band?” Zayn said, eyes boring into Liams.

“Ok, yeah, but we’ll talk to him, we’ll see what’s really going on.”

“I need a cigarette. And some fries would be nice, I guess.”

“Ok, ok - let’s hit the drive through, and then we’ll stop and get you cigarettes then London, yeah?” Liam was still holding the book, he realized. He leaned back over and put it back in the outer pocket of the back pack. He looked at Zayn and attempted his best smile. It probably came out a little strained.

Zayn finally cracked a small smile. “Fries and cigarettes and London. In that order.”

“Drive-thru or inside? We should probably use the bathroom so we don’t have to stop-”

“Sir, you have an incoming text,” the flat electronic voice was back. Liam looked at the screen, it was flashing “Incoming text.”

“What the fuck?” Liam said.

“I was able to re-route everything that goes to your phone. Accept or decline the text, sir? It’s from a private number.”

Liam turned away from the screen. The dread he was feeling in his stomach was being reflected back to him by Zayn’s wide eyes and clenched jaw. 

“Shit.” Liam said.

“Do you think -” Zayn started. He didn’t need to finish. Liam DID think it was the private number that had started this mess.

“Accept,” Liam said. He clenched the steering wheel again. 

“Text accepted. Incoming Video. Press play to watch.”

Liam looked over at Zayn - he had leaned forward and was staring intently at the screen. Liam held his breath and hit play.

It was another One Direction interview. Only this one Liam had no memory of, and Zayn was once again somehow inserted into the video. He watched it the whole way through, Zayn silent next to him. When it ended, he played it one more time, just to make sure they didn’t miss anything.

 

Interviewer: “If you hadn’t met on X factor, do you think you would have met anyway?”

Liam: “Can you imagine if we just met in some random situation, all in a tattoo shop. Except for Niall. Niall’s doing the tats!

Zayn: “Who knows.”

The boys banter about being at the same concert and football games in the past before they knew each other, except for Zayn.

Liam turned to Zayn. “Where were you all these years?”

Louis: “Me and Zayn both lived in Yorkshire, so we could have gone for the same job.”

Zayn turned to Liam and Louis: “I don’t tend to do much in my own time. So I might not have seen you.”

Louis: “You might not’ve.”

Liam: “But then again you might have.”

 

The screen went black. Liam turned to Zayn. "How about those fries now, yeah?" he said weakly. He didn't think he could eat, but he didn't know what else to do other than to keep moving forward.

Zayn just nodded, and they both got out of the car and headed into the McDonalds.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the sake of my sanity/the story, Zayn does not have NECK tattoos (Or, any tattoos above the neck, to be more accurate) in any universe. Sorry Zayn. Also, per usual, this will be longer than anticipated ha. And thank you as always for following along and your comments are my life blood. :)

Under normal circumstances, Zayn would have refused to eat in such an expensive car that belonged to someone he had just met. But, he had learned in a harsh, life-upending way, these were not normal times. So there he sat, eating french fries and making crumbs in a Ferrari so nice he didn’t even want to know the cost. 

Liam was a good driver, Zayn had to admit to himself, as he watched him smoothly shift the car on the drive to London, his eagle tattoo on his hand once again catching his eye. Zayn was a bit jealous- he would love to get tattoos on his hands and had several ideas, but as long as he taught at the school, he knew he shouldn’t.

Zayn felt better after furiously smoking two cigarettes back to back - he had offered, but Liam had politely refused one, and instead leaned against the car, eating his own fries while Zayn breathed in the nicotine, letting the chemicals calm his nervous system and occupy his shaking fingers. Once finished, they got back in the car and went on their way.

“So, this car is like, special?” Zayn asked, finishing his fries and grabbing his McFlurry. He should have saved some fries to dip in the frozen ice cream, damnit. He wanted to talk about anything that wasn’t the current headache, anxiety-inducing situation he found himself thrown in alongside Liam

“Well, yeah,” Liam said, throwing a quick glance at Zayn before turning his full focus to the road ahead. “It’s a concept car - so it hasn’t been mass produced. It’s actually one of a kind. Well, two of a kind. The other one is on display in Maranello.”

“Maranello?”

“Italy, where they make Ferraris.”

“Ah,” Zayn said. He didn’t know what else to say - the world of expensive sport cars was not one he was familiar with, or really cared to learn about. “But is this car, like, equipped specially? I mean, shouldn’t you have to press a button, or change a privacy setting to have it just re-route all your calls and texts? And how can it receive calls and texts without bluetooth or your phone?”

“Yeah, I dunno,” Liam said uneasily. “Maybe it works like a really advanced Siri? Not sure. When I bought it, they told me about the acceleration - we didn’t discuss the computer capabilities. My other Ferrari doesn’t have this. Actually, in Ferraris they don’t put any type of touch screen, or infotainment screen at all. My other one doesn’t even have a radio. This baby is very unusual.” 

“My other Ferrari,” Zayn muttered. Bloody popstars that called their expensive cars baby. “Must be nice.”

“It is nice, and I’m very lucky, I know that,” Liam responded quietly. 

Zayn sighed. Whatever, Liam’s fame and fortune wasn’t important right now. 

“Wait, your other car doesn’t even have a radio? How can you drive without music?” 

“Because a Ferrari is basically a racing car that you can take out on the road - everything is so noisy you wouldn’t be able to hear the music much anyway. Can’t you hear how loud the engine is?”

Zayn realized then how loud the engine was - he somehow hadn’t been paying attention, or, he was so distracted by Liam and their situation that the noisy car was the least distracting thing happening to him. “Yeah, it’s pretty loud.”

“And they don’t put the screens in because it’s all about the driving experience in the car - they don’t want you taking a work call or messing with satellite radio while going super fast or trying to take a sharp turn.”

“Makes sense, I guess,” Zayn said reluctantly, still stuck on the fact that Liam had not one but TWO Ferraris. “If you already have one, why buy this one?”

“I don’t know why I bought it,” Liam said, taking a hand off the wheel to run his fingers through his short hair. “This one just reminded me of the batmobile or summat.”

“Batmobile?” Zayn laughed despite himself.

“Yeah, you don’t like Batman?” Liam’s eyes were on the road but he was smiling. He had a nice smile, Zayn thought.

Zayn shrugged. “What’s not to like? He’s Batman. I was a big fan - when I was younger.”

“Oh, too grown up for superheros now, are we?”

“I didn’t say that,” Zayn said. He hesitated, not sure how much he wanted to reveal about himself to this near stranger. Famous stranger, no less. He decided that, once again, these were not typical times. “I was Matt Murdoch this past Halloween, actually. Had a baton and everything.”

“Nice,” Liam said. “The devil of hell’s kitchen, himself. He your favorite?”

Zayn was pleased that Liam knew something beyond just the batmobile, which everybody knew about, whether or not they were into superheroes. 

“One of ‘em. I have a lot. Been a fan of comics since I was a kid, actually, I used to collect them. Kind of a nerd, I guess.”

“Nothing wrong with being a nerd. I love Batman, and Ironman too. I’m not ashamed to say that, “ Liam laughed.

“Your two favorites are playboy billionaires, yeah? Hmm.” Zayn said. “Well you certainly have the car for it.”

Liam laughed, and Zayn watched his eyes crinkle up again. “I’m the furthest thing from a playboy, trust me. And yeah, I like the cars. But Tony Stark is a genius who can invent anything, and Batman sometimes helps make his own gadgets. I just like making things with my hands, but I’m no genius. So I have respect for them. And then they fight crime, so there’s that.”

“What kind of things do you like making with your hands?” Zayn said, before he realized the innuendo. He glanced at Liam out of the corner of his eye, pretending to be absorbed in his McFlurry. 

“Uh, just like, stuff. I dunno. I like to cook. I like to sketch. Things like that.”

“What do you sketch?” Zayn said, turning to watch Liam. 

“Anything that catches my eye, really. When I’m on tour it helps me relax, you know?”

“Yeah,” Zayn said softly. He was trying not to think about how he had put Liam in a box as one thing, but was quickly being shown that the singer was a bit too complicated for the simple box Zayn had constructed in his mind.

“You said art helped you - do you paint? Sketch? Sculpt?”

Zayn smirked. “No sculpture. I draw and sketch. But I really like graffiti art.”

“Ah sick! Bit of a rebel are we? Does your job know you go about tagging walls?” Liam laughed.

Zayn smiled. “Nothing like that. I keep it strictly legal. Behind my flat is an extra shed - landlord lets me use it to spray. I hang up old sheets and spray on ‘em. Then when they get finished I can just hang up new sheets. I got it properly ventilated and everything.”

“Nice set up.” 

“Yeah, I like it. One day I want a real studio. One day.” Zayn hesitated. It was suddenly important that he make Liam understand the importance of funding the arts program at Hanson. “I love books, of course, but art is something just for me, ya know? Some people go to therapy, I go spray paint a bunch of monsters on shitty old sheets.”

“That’s why I want to help, “ Liam said earnestly. “With the music, the art, the whole bit. Reading and sports isn’t for everyone. I never wanted to be in class - but I did like my music and art classes. That and gym were the only things I was really good at.”

“How are you supposed to help when I might not even teach at the school anymore?” Zayn said. His ice cream was gone and he was getting upset again, picturing the classroom of strange students who thought he was in a boy band. It still didn’t feel real. Zayn took a deep breath. 

“Well, I can still help, either way,” Liam said reasonably. “And we will figure this out, Zayn, I promise you that.”

“Yeah?” Zayn didn’t want promises. He wanted his students and classroom back. He wanted HIS life back. 

“We will,” Liam said. 

Zayn wanted to believe him. But despite Liam’s wealth and many talents, he was no magician. Zayn thought at this point he either needed to wake up for good, or a miracle had to happen. 

“The book,” Zayn remembered. He leaned down and pulled it out from the backpack by his feet. “I’m going to read it and see what kind of shite it has to say, yeah?”

“Ok, let me know if you find anything good in there,” Liam said. “If I put on music will that bother you? You won't be able to hear it too much anyway over the engine.”

“Nah, go ahead,” Zayn said distractedly, already reading the forward by the two authors (Him and Liam??). 

 

An hour later, Zayn was well into the book and nothing made any sense. Liam had kept up a steady stream of chill music that could be faintly heard over the roar of the engine (“Frank Ocean, nice,” Zayn said at one point, looking up from a dense chapter postulating on the theory that there were in fact TEN dimensions), occasionally humming or singing along. Zayn normally found humming annoying, but he didn’t mind the gentle background noise Liam made while he attempted to make sense of string theory and quantum physics. Zayn was smart, he knew, but science and math had never been his specialty. 

“So, anything good?” Liam said, breaking Zayn’s concentration.

“Well. Like, some of it makes sense, then it goes above my head. Did you know there are ten dimensions?”

“Ten? I thought there were, like three? 3D is the third dimension, right?” Liam asked.

“Well, you’re correct,” Zayn said, realizing too late he had put his teacher demeanor on -talking to Liam as if he were a student who had just answered a question, but he couldn’t help it - it was ingrained. “The third dimension is three dimensional space. And then the fourth dimension is time. But after that it’s fucking confusing as all get out. And then it goes on until the tenth dimension, where supposedly anything is possible.”

“Then what’s happening in dimensions five through nine?” Liam said.

Zayn sighed. “Not sure. Basically, it escalates. Like, it starts off with the fifth dimension being a different world than ours. There are other worlds, then different planes with multiple worlds, and then some of the worlds have the same starting point as ours, but others have different histories.”

Liam whistled. “That hurts my head just thinking about it.”

Zayn agreed. “It’s a lot. But, the authors, or whoever… claim they have mastered all the dimensions. They’re basically saying they can travel through time and space, and travel to different worlds. Or, they call them braneworlds.”

“Uh, well how do they travel then?”

“Something about manipulating particles and strings on a sub-atomic level. Quantum mechanics. Way, way above my head.”

Liam was quiet for a moment, fingers tapping on the steering wheel to the faint beat of the sensuous song playing throughout the car. Something by Normani, Zayn thought absently. 

“So then,” Liam began. He paused. “I know Niall thinks I’m crazy, but do you think we really could be in a different universe? Or braneworld, or whatever?”

Zayn didn’t want to voice his thoughts for fear of sounding like he had lost touch with reason, but he didn’t know what to think anymore. 

“Maybe? If everyone thinks I’m in One Direction, when obviously I’m not. It could be a different universe. But you seem the same? I mean, you’re still IN the band.”

“And dating a band member? That’s something new for me.” Liam said, tapping faster.

“I mean -” Zayn had nothing to add to that. “Actually, do you think whoever’s sending the videos and stuff, that’s like, stuff from the alternate world bleeding through to ours?”

“Hmm, yeah. But how is it bleeding through? Aren’t we in the alternate world right now? Or might be? So how did we get here?”

Zayn crossed his arms over his chest and sunk into the soft leather seat “Dunno. No fucking clue.” He leaned his head all the way back. He could suddenly barely keep his eyes open - between the emotional turmoil and reading in a moving car the last hour, he just needed to nap. “Do you mind if I close my eyes until we get there?”

Liam looked at that car clock. “Sure, I’ll wake you when we get there, still got over an hour. You gonna be able to sleep over the engine noise?”

“Bro, I can sleep anywhere, you don’t even know. It’s a talent of mine.”

“I’m beginning to think you’re a man of many talents,” Liam said softly.

“You’re one to speak,” Zayn said sleepily.

Liam began to hum again; and that was the last sound Zayn heard before he nodded off, the roar of the engine fading into the background before his uneasy dreams began. 

 

Zayn woke suddenly. He blinked and tried to focus. He'd fallen asleep in a car? What the - then he turned and looked at the driver in the seat next to him; it all came rushing back - Liam Payne at his school, people thinking he was in One Direction, and Zayn having one hell of a panic attack. Zayn had really, really been fucking counting on going to sleep and waking up with the entire ordeal just a vivid nightmare, but alas, he thought bitterly, he was either still dreaming or this was his new reality. 

“Are we there yet?” Zayn asked,, twisting his neck, attempting to stretch out the kinks. He realized the car had stopped. 

“Nice nap?” Liam asked, but he looked tense; his hands clenched the wheel and he kept checking his rearview mirror. Liam had pulled over to the side of a busy road, but they were parked in a loading zone. 

“Uh, kinda. Where are we?”

“A couple blocks from the hotel. I found out the car navigation works just fine. Or, works like normal, I should say," Liam said, looking at the touch screen with narrowed eyes, as if the car, or the computer, was about to misbehave. "So, I think you should go on ahead by yourself, I don’t think we should go in together.”

“What? Why?” Zayn was not fully awake. Naps were always a good idea in theory, but not practice; he always woke up feeling more tired than when he went down.

“So, I was thinking,” Liam started.

“Never a good sign, mate.” Zayn said, smirking.

Liam shot him an annoyed look. “Anyway, if this IS something different - another world, or if things have somehow permanently changed, then people think you are in One Direction, yeah?”

Zayn almost choked - that second idea hadn’t even occurred to him. What if they were still in their world but events had somehow been altered, changing their fate, forever? But wait, he thought, that didn’t make sense, because Niall thought there was another Liam and Zayn out there, enjoying a swanky island vacation at the same time his Liam (well, not HIS Liam, Zayn thought, but how else was he supposed to keep things straight in this mess?) was right here with him. He realized Liam was still talking.

“What?”

“I said,” Liam said, “If people think you are in the band, they will recognize you, yeah? And it’s not like your face is forgettable.”

“What does that mean?” Zayn said, now fully awake.

Liam rolled his eyes, despite maintaining a tight grip on the wheel. “It means you have a memorable face, Zayn. When people see you on the street they probably do a double take, and that’s without you even being famous.”

“Well,” Zayn didn’t know what to say. Yes, he modeled. Yes, he was aware he was considered attractive - but this wasn’t some guy hitting on him in a club in Bradford, or fuck, even London, this was Liam Payne. Who, in person, was no slouch in the looks department himself. A moment later Zayn re-evaluated his opinion when Liam took off his hoodie, leaving nothing but a tight blue shirt on underneath, and held out the hoodie to Zayn. 

“Here take it.”

“What?” Zayn was too busy looking at Liam’s arms - muscular and covered in black and grey tattoos, and then his chest, where he could actually see the muscles rippling under his very, very tight shirt. Zayn swallowed. 

"C’mon Zayn, put this on. And then you can put the hood up, and just keep your head down, the hotel is only a block down the street.”

“What are you going to do?”

“They don’t have an underground garage here, so I’ll have to valet at the entrance. It would be better if we’re not seen together.”

“But if we’re dating, and we’re here to see Niall, why does it matter?” Zayn was confused.

Liam shook his head. “It’s not that simple. Even if we are dating, we might not be public. I don’t know what’s going on there. And also, first rule of the band, separate is better no matter what - the more of us together the larger the crowds and the crazier the fans. And fans pay attention to who hangs out with who - it’s a whole thing.” Liam sighed. “Just trust me on this, yeah?”

“Ok, I guess.” Zayn took the hoodie, unbuckled his seatbelt, and put it on, rather awkwardly in the confines of the car. When he put it over his head he could smell Liam’s cologne, which smelled expensive and heady. The hoodie was warm too, but Zayn tried not to think about that. The hoodie was looser on him than Liam, his shoulders were broad for his narrow frame, but overall Liam was bulkier. With muscle, Zayn thought. 

Liam looked at him for a moment, once he had the hoodie on. He cleared his throat. “Ok, when you get inside go straight to the front desk, and ask what room Niall is in, they know to expect you. Don’t wait for me, I’ll come up after I get the car taken care of. I’m going to wait a couple minutes.”

“How will they know it’s me?”

“Zayn, mate. If you are in the band, they’ll know, trust me. And Niall is at this hotel because the staff isn’t paid off - they won’t tell the papers any of us are there. Now remember, keep your head down, and hood up, yeah?” 

Zayn felt his stomach turn, but he pressed his lips together and nodded. He could do this. With a final look at Liam, who was looking at him with his brown eyes filled with concern, he flipped the hood up, and waited for the car doors to raise up - like mechanical angel wings, Zayn thought. 

He got out of the car, and kept his head down and hood up, per Liam’s instructions. He walked as quickly as he could without trying to look suspicious, while avoiding all eye contact with passerbys. Then he remembered this was London, a city of millions, not his neighborhood back home, and everybody here was too busy to be concerned with a random stranger. After that, Zayn relaxed a bit, and tried to imagine what it felt like to be known, to have Liam’s degree of fame; he couldn’t imagine being worried every time he left the house he might start a riot. But he realized Liam was smart enough, and had been well known long enough, to think about precautions.

Zayn got to the hotel in no time, and walked through the front doors and into an opulent lobby; he tried to discreetly look around as he headed to the expansive front desk. 

“May I help you sir?” The man at the front desk regarded him with some disdain. 

Zayn remembered he still had his head down and hood up. He pulled it down and looked up, and then, feeling inspired (perhaps it was all those high school theatre productions he partook in when younger) he said, in his best bored, haughty voice, “Yes, in fact you can. Can you tell me which room Niall Horan from One,-” Zayn caught himself - if he was IN the band he didn’t need to word it like that. “-Niall is staying in?”

The man’s demeanor immediately changed, a large smile plastered on his pinched features. “Of course, sir, of course. Room 4115. Let me have Dane escort you up.”

The man named Dane appeared as if summoned, and said, “This way sir.”

Zayn shot a parting glare at the man at the front desk, and then followed Dane to the elevator bank at the end of the lobby. 

Thankfully he avoided all small talk and was silent, leaving Zayn at door 4115 with a gentle nod. Zayn realized he was nervous all over again. He had told Liam the truth; he wasn’t a fan of the band, but he still knew who they were, and even in the modeling world, he didn’t interact with any real celebrities, he just did campaigns for lesser known designers for online or print ads. He shook himself - this wasn’t Usher, or Justin Timberlake, this was Niall from One Direction, he could handle this. He knocked loudly on the door, then shoved his hands in the front pocket of the hoodie. 

 

The door opened, and Zayn recognized Niall. His eyes were bright blue, and he flashed a quick grin.

“Hey Zayn, good to see you man, come on in. Where’s Liam?“ 

“Uh, taking care of the car.”

“Can’t believe he bought another Ferrari! I was looking at the pics on twitter and it looks sick, mate. What happened to the Maldives though? And why were you at a school? And you sure Liam’s not been drinking?” Niall looked sharply at Zayn, who felt like he was under examination. “All that shite about alternate universes?”

“Uh,” Zayn tried not to panic. “I’ll let Liam explain, he’ll be up in a minute. And he’s sober,” Zayn thought to add. 

“Ok, ok, you hungry? I can order room service.”

“I’m good,” Zayn said weakly, taking in the beautiful hotel room, but too distracted by Niall talking to him like they were old friends. 

“You ok man? You look kinda pale?”

“I’m good,” Zayn repeated, not feeling comfortable enough to sit on one of the two beds in the room, so he sat down on an overstuffed wing back chair instead, hands clutched tightly together inside the hoodie pocket. Niall watched him closely, while he sat down on the bed closest to Zayn.

“Well, listen -”

A knock on the door interrupted whatever Niall was about to say.

“Liam if that’s you come in, I left the door cracked,” Niall called out. Zayn was relieved to see Liam walk through the door, even though it had literally been less than ten minutes since he had last seen him in the car. 

“Zayn you forgot the drinks, I figured you would want to keep them close by” Liam said, walking over to Zayn and setting down the backpack that held the Lucozade bottles next to Zayn's chair. Zayn felt the front pocket; the book was still in there as well. He DID feel better having the backpack with him. He watched Liam walk over to Niall and give him a quick hug. When Liam pulled back, he rubbed his hands over his face for a moment. 

“You won’t believe the day I - we’ve had-” Liam started. 

“What the fuck,” Niall interrupted, standing up to grab Liam’s right hand. He held it in front of his face, eyes wide. “What happened to your tattoo?”

Liam looked down at his hand that had the eagle tattoo. Zayn leaned forward in his seat. He didn’t know what Niall was referring too. “What do you mean?” Liam looked confused.

“The banners!” Niall said, his voice rising in volume. “What happened to the banners?”

“Niall, what the fuck, the banners are right there, what are you talking about?”

“Liam the WORDS in the banner, did you get them lasered off?” Niall was almost yelling.

“What? What words? The banners have always been empty?”

Niall abruptly let go of Liam’s hand, and took a step back. He looked almost fearful. “Liam. Last year you got the banners filled in. They said Free. To fly. Free to fly.” He turned and looked at Zayn, then turned back to Liam. “What the fuck is going on?”


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Onward and upwards! Thank you for your patience for the updates - I was out of the country for a week and have been playing catch up with my jobs. Also, as always, I LOVE reading your comments!! They are seriously the most motivating, and I love seeing people guessing and taking the time to leave their thoughts! Thank you a million :)

Liam was frozen in place. What did Niall mean by ‘Free to Fly?’ The banners on his eagle tattoo had always remained empty. Liam didn’t even know what HE wanted to put in the banners - but he always thought that when he heard or read or came up with what he wanted, he would just know. Free to fly - Liam liked the sound of that. He shook himself; Niall was about to have a meltdown in front of him, and damnit if he hadn’t been dealing with people freaking out all over the place today.

“Listen-” Liam watched as Zayn reached down to Liam’s back pack and grabbed the copy of “Breaking the Tenth Dimension” from the front pocket and stood up from the wingback chair; Zayn cautiously approached Niall, as if he was a wild animal easily startled. He held the book out in front of him like a shield as he walked forward. “We found this book at a coffee shop and we don’t know what’s going-”

Zayn was interrupted as Niall grabbed his wrists in his hands and twisted them so his palms were face down. 

“Ow, what the fuck man,” Zayn said.

Niall ignored him. “Where - where the fuck are your tattoos?” He looked up, eyes wide and blue and panicked, turning from Zayn to Liam and then back again. “What happened to your tattoos? What the FUCK is going on with both of you?”

Zayn yanked his wrists out of Nialls iron grip. “What tattoos?”

“On your hands!” Niall’s voice had gone up an octave. Or two.

Zayn turned and looked at Liam, raising an eyebrow as if to ask permission. Liam nodded, and Zayn grimly nodded back. Liam wondered briefly how the easy, wordless communication that developed between partners, friends, and family, after years of knowing and spending time with the other person, had somehow managed to manifest between himself and Zayn in the span of one day. He shivered slightly, and remembered Zayn was still wearing his hoodie.

“Bro, I’ve never had tattoos on my hands.” Zayn held out the book again. “Look at the authors of this book, kay?”

Niall took the book silently and looked down at the back page. He looked up after a minute. “I don’t understand? Is this a joke? Did a fan make this?”

Zayn looked over at Liam again, as if asking for help; he had just met Niall after all, for fuck’s sake, and had no idea how the lad would react to everything - whatever everything even entailed. 

 

Liam sighed. “Listen mate,” he said gently. “Can we see the photo we sent you? The one from the Maldives or whatever?”

“Uh, sure,” Niall sat down on the edge of the nearest bed and pulled his phone out of his pocket. He scrolled for a moment and then looked up sharply. “Zayn, your hair. It’s different. I didn’t even notice. It’s - I don’t understand.”

Liam held his hand out and Niall handed his phone over. He looked down at the photo displayed on the screen and felt, more than heard, Zayn shuffle up next to him and look over his shoulder - his breath warm on Liam’s neck.

The photo was blurry, as if one of them had moved at the last second - Liam looked down at the other Liam, incredulous - someone who looked like an exact duplicate of himself, and yet he knew, he just knew, looking at the photo, that was not himself. It was an eerie feeling - it wasn’t just that he had no memory of the photo being taken or being in that place with Zayn, but looking down at the image, he didn’t recognize the look on his face. Liam was looking at Zayn, and Zayn was looking into the camera, caught mid laugh, his mouth open, his head tilted back. And his hair was long, much longer than HIS Zayn wore his, and the edges were tipped in blue. 

Liam looked for a long moment at his own image in the photo - the other him stared at the other Zayn with a combination of tenderness, fondness, and reverence that rendered Liam almost unrecognizable even to his own self. He felt self-conscious with Zayn peering over his shoulder - could one feel second hand embarrassment for another version of themselves? Apparently, Liam concluded, if his warm face was any indication, then yes, yes one could. 

“Uh, so, care to tell me what the FUCK is going on?” Niall said. 

Liam looked up from the phone; he didn’t know how long he had been looking at the photo, but he could still feel Zayn’s warm breath on his neck. He shifted on his feet and looked at Niall, whose eyes were still wide. “You might want to sit down for all this. It’s going to be long…”

 

“So let me get this straight,” Niall said, sometime later, when Liam, with help from Zayn, had told him about the events of the very, very long day, starting with receiving the Stephen Hawking video and the ‘brave’ gif, meeting Zayn at his school, going to the coffee shop, their weird black out moment in the car, subsequently returning to the coffee shop, followed by their SECOND black out moment, then returning to the school and having Zayn’s students and classroom not recognize him and be completely different, and then their decision to road trip down to London, as well as receiving the second video with the interview featuring the band and Zayn. "You guys aren't together?"

Liam rolled his eyes - how was Niall starting with the least significant aspect of this whole shit show?

Niall had opened up the mini bar somewhere around the time Liam was describing blacking out in the coffee shop after Zayn found the book, and he was sipping on his second glass of straight whiskey. Niall was sitting on one bed, Liam was sitting on the other, and Zayn was watching them from where he taken refuge in the wingback chair again. Liam noted his backpack was between Zayn’s feet. 

"And," Niall added, "Where you come from you're NOT in the band?"

"We told you he was a teacher," Liam said, exasperated. 

"I know, I know, I just. Zayn a teacher. I can't believe it. I mean, I CAN believe that part, but not being in the band? And you guys not together." Niall shook his head and took another sip of his whiskey. 

"You already said that," Liam muttered.

"You really think you guys are in a different universe then the one you belong to?" Niall said, looking up from his drink.

“According to the book,” Zayn said with a shrug,, “there are many braneworlds. Like, there might be an alternate universe, or there might be an infinite amount of them.”

“Only one way to find out for sure,” Liam said. He was once again itching for something to do. He couldn’t handle leaving something unresolved, and this was a BIG something. “When you called me, did you call me from your phone?”

“Well, yeah, how else would I call you?”

“Well I didn’t have my phone with me. The call went straight to my car. No phone, no bluetooth, just the car taking the call.”

Niall looked confused. “I don’t understand, how’s that possible?”

“I don’t know either, but the car’s system seems pretty advanced. But show me how you called me.”

“Uh, ok,” Niall pulled out his phone, stood up, put down his whiskey on the side table, and came over and sat next to Liam. Zayn also stood and came up and sat down on Liam’s other side, pressed right up against him. Niall held out his phone and pulled up his 'recently dialed' screen. “You were the last person I called, and then my assistant called me after, and those are the only calls from this afternoon.”

Liam leaned forward and clicked on the info icon to look at his contact info in Niall’s phone. There was only one number listed under his name. “That’s not my number.” Liam didn’t know why he wasn’t more surprised, or why he had yet to have a freak out moment like Zayn did. But then again, no one had failed to recognize him as himself like Zayn had. 

“Well, if it’s not your number, how did I get you then?” Niall said impatiently. 

From the other side of Liam he felt Zayn shift on the bed. “Who sent you the photo from the Maldives?” Zayn asked.

Niall laughed. “Liam, of course. You go MIA on a good day, on vacation you may as well be in witness protection mate. The number I have for you is like, two or three number changes ago.”

“Can we call that number then? See what happens?” Liam said. He was both excited and dreading the idea - he didn’t know if he wanted no one on the other end of the line (or his car on the other end?) or if he actually wanted there to be the alternate version of himself - that happy, care-free man in the photo that was clearly enamored of the other Zayn, to pick up.

“What the hell, let’s facetime while we’re at it,” Niall said, dialing. 

Liam turned to look at Zayn, and found him staring down at the phone Niall held out in front of them. Liam looked at his long lashes and his hands clenched tightly in his lap, and he knew the feeling. Without thinking about it he reached up and gave Zayn’s shoulder a quick, hopefully reassuring squeeze. Zayn turned to him, the corner of his mouth lifting in a quick smirk, then he turned back down to the phone. 

“Holy fucking shit.” Zayn breathed out. 

Liam looked down at the phone. And found himself looking at… himself. The feeling was like inside out deja vu. Liam remembered when he had gone to a carnival and there had been a ride called the Gravitron, that spun riders around in a UFO style contraption. His stomach had dropped out of his body, much like it had on the ride. 

The Liam on Niall’s phone was shirtless and it looked like he was on a beach. 

“Hey Niall,” the other Liam said. “Everything ok mate? I wasn’t going to answer but you don’t usually call, is something going on?”

“Um,” Niall said unintelligibly.

Liam was trying to take deep breaths, when he felt Zayn grab onto his arm with a death grip. 

“Leeyum,” Zayn whispered. “Is that - is this - is this all real?”

Liam opened his mouth but no words came out. He could only nod. 

“Who are you with ? That looks like…me? Are you next to my cardboard cutout?” the other Liam laughed. “Are you trying to be funny mate?”

Liam watched Niall angle the phone away, so the other Liam could only see his face in the corner of his phone. He looked up at Liam, panicked again. “What do I say?” he whispered frantically, waving the phone around.

Liam tried to take another deep breath. When all those around you have lost their heads… came to his mind again, unbidden. He whispered back to Niall,”Ask him where the other Zayn is. There’s no point in doing this more than once.”

“Uh, Liam, is Zayn there? We need to talk to both of you. It’s kinda important.”

“We? Who else is there? Are Louis and Harry there?”

“In a second, mate - is Zayn available?” Niall asked.

“Yeah, he’s right here, about to take a nap but he’s still awake.” 

Niall moved the phone back so Liam and Zayn could see. Other Liam’s face went out of view for a moment, to be replaced by who could only be the other Zayn. Other than his hair, he looked like an exact copy of his Zayn, Liam thought. This still didn’t feel real. Other Zayn was lying on a towel and had his eyes closed, he opened one slowly. “Li, what the fuck,” he sounded grumpy. He rubbed his eyes, and Liam noticed his hand had several tattoos on them. 

Liam felt Zayn grip his arm tighter, upon hearing the other Zayn’s voice and no doubt seeing his hand as well. He looked at Niall, who was swiveling his head back and forth between gaping at the the Liam and Zayn in front of him, and the tiny ones on the screen, who were about to have their beach vacation wildly disrupted. In another world, (Ha! Liam thought) he would feel bad for disrupting their vacation, but since it was another version of himself he didn’t feel as bad? At least, he thought so, he wasn’t quite sure how any of this worked. 

“So, we may as well dive right in,” Liam said, gently prying the phone out of Niall’s hand. He aimed the phone so him and Zayn were both half in the little square in the corner. “Hi guys. It’s Liam here. And Zayn.” Liam wasn’t sure why he talked as if he was introducing himself in some online interview video, but he was running on nothing but instincts and a Big Mac and fries from several hours ago, and he felt like it was better to rip off the bandaid then prolong the big reveal to the other Zayn and Liam. 

“What the fuck!” other Liam said. He went out of view for a moment, and then came back to the screen. He was now sitting up. Other Zayn had also sat up and looked wide awake, peeking out from behind Liam’s shoulder. “Are you guys impersonators? Did Niall put you up to this?” 

“Liam, I don’t think they’re impersonators, they’re too- they look just like us,” other Zayn’s eyes were huge and he was speaking quietly but his voice was rather high. 

“What the fuck,” other Liam said again. Liam looked at his other self closely. His voice was stern, but his eyes looked frantic. “Is this a joke? What the fuck is going on?”

“Show them your hands, guys,” Liam had almost forgot Niall was sitting next to them. 

“Listen, I know this seems impossible, guys, but we’re not impersonators. Look at our hands.” Liam held up his hand with the eagle tattoo and the empty banners in front of the phone. “Let me see yours, yeah?”

Other Liam looked frozen to the spot, but then slowly raised his hand. Liam looked in fascination - the first banner said ‘free’ and the second banner had ‘to fly,’ just like Niall had said. He lowered his hand. “Zayn, your turn.”

He held the phone in front of Zayn, who quickly rolled up his sleeves up several times, exposing the tattoos that started below his wrists but showing the back of his hands as empty. Zayn copied Liam, holding his hands up, and other Zayn slowly did the same thing, bringing his hands up in front of the other Liam, who he was still sitting mostly behind, chin resting on the other Liam’s shoulder, while his hands came up in front of his chest. Liam noted the word ‘love’ tattooed on his knuckles, and his other hand had what looked like an elaborate mandala design that stretched down past his wrist, as well as small tattoos on each finger. 

“Sick,” Liam heard Zayn breath out next to him. Liam couldn’t help but smile.

“So, what the FUCK then is this?” other Liam squeaked out.

Niall leaned over, so his face popped up in the corner of the phone again. “You guys might want to sit down for this, it’s a long story. And did you know you wrote a time travel book?”

“They are sitting down. And it’s not really about time travel- “ Zayn started. 

“Can you tell us what the fuck all this is?” other Zayn interrupted, clutching other Liam’s shoulders. 

Liam looked at his Zayn and sighed. How many times were they going to have to do this? He may as well get through it as quickly as possible. The sooner they did the sooner they could figure out how to get back to their world. And Liam hated that was an actual thing that was happening to him now.

“Ok, it all started this morning when I received a text with a video from a private number…,” Liam began, and he felt Zayn give him an encouraging squeeze on his shoulder as he began the story again.

Niall stood up and grabbed his whiskey from the side table. 

“I’m going to need a refill if I have to sit through this story again,” he muttered. 

Liam rolled his eyes and continued on. “Do you guys know who Stephen Hawking is?”

Other Zayn nodded and other Liam shrugged. “Sounds familiar?”

Liam sighed. When he woke up with morning he didn’t think he’d be ending the day explaining who Stephen Hawking was - to himself, no less, when earlier in the day he couldn’t recall the name either. This day would be one for the record books, to be sure.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think some of the questions people have will be answered in this chapter (or maybe not, ha!). I hate, hate waiting longer than a week between updates, so thank you all for your patience, as always! Anyway - your comments and kudos spurn me on! Thank you, thank you :)

“So let me get this straight,” other Zayn said, after Zayn and Liam had explained their entire day again in painstaking detail. “Niall, you have Liam’s number in your phone. The number we are talking on right now, yeah?”

“Yesss,” Niall slurred. 

Zayn had lost track of how many refills of the mini-bars’ whiskey Niall had - he'd moved to the other bed, sipping his whiskey and occasionally interjecting in the conversation. But he seemed more calm then when Zayn and Liam had initially sprung the news that they were from another universe. Or something to that effect. Overall, Zayn was impressed with how Niall was handling everything; much better than he would have taken the news, he thought. Although, he was LIVING it, and he’d only had one full on panic attack, so overall he pretty proud of himself. Niall had also insisted upon ordering room service some time ago, and in between bites of club sandwiches they had recounted the strange day, as well as a little bit of background on themselves. 

Zayn was sat right up against Liam’s warm thigh on the other bed, while Liam held the phone and they facetimed with their - Zayn wasn’t sure what to call them. Twins? Dopplegangers? Counterparts?

“So when you called just now you got us? You got our Liam. My Liam. But when you called it earlier, you got them?” other Zayn asked, his face looking perplexed in miniature on the phone’s screen.

“Well actually he got my car, I don’t know where my phone is.” Liam said. 

“Probably left it behind a universe or two ago,” Zayn muttered.

“Whatever,” other Zayn said impatiently. “That doesn’t make sense. How can Niall get you guys, and then get us, when dialing the same number?”

“That’s what you’re worried about?” other Liam said incredulously. “How a phone number doesn’t work? What about the fact that we have two clones talking to us? For all we know they could be evil!”

“We can hear you, ya know?” Liam said. “And if we’re evil, then wouldn’t you guys be evil too? Since we’re so similar?”

“Similar?” other Liam said. “Your Zayn isn’t even in the band, how is that similar?”

Zayn had tried to avoid HIS Liam’s eyes when other Liam said ‘your Zayn.’ He was beginning to get a headache.

“I like your hair, mate, the blue on the ends is sick,” Zayn said, tired of talking about multiverses.

“Thanks!” other Zayn said, giving a half smile. “What does your shirt say?”

Zayn reached across Liam to gently angle the phone to show the ‘Truth’ on the front of his shirt. 

“Nice,” other Zayn said. “They let you dress like that at the school you teach at?”

“Uh, not usually,” Zayn said. “I accidentally grabbed the wrong shirt this morning. It’s from a fashion shoot.”

“You’re a teacher and a model?” other Zayn looked impressed. He was still peeking over other Liam’s shoulder. “Wow. How do you manage that?”

“It’s just small time designers, it’s not like I do runway or any big campaigns,” Zayn said. 

“Still, you’re a teacher and you model on the side,” other Zayn said. 

“I mean, you’re like the international pop star, I’m sure you could model if you wanted? You could probably get a big time designer to hire you for a campaign no problem.” 

“Are you flirting with... yourself? Really?” Liam whispered, gently elbowing Zayn in the side and jostling the phone. Zayn elbowed him back and didn’t bother with a response.

“The band is kind of a package deal, it’d be hard to go off and do my own thing- “

“Ok, if this mutual admiration society can take a break long enough for us to discuss the REAL issue here!” 

Other Zayn was cut off by other Liam. Zayn watched his other version scowl at other Liam, and then dig his sharp chin into other Liam’s broad shoulder. He couldn’t help but think they made a really cute couple. Which, really, he thought, what did that mean for the state of things in his own universe? If they ever got back there, that is. Just because him and Liam dated in another universe didn’t mean anything in his reality, especially considering their very different career paths. And why, Zayn scolded himself, was he even wasting his time analyzing this madness?

“The real issue,” Liam said, taking back the phone from Zayn, “Is how me and Zayn are going to get back to our world. Or reality. Or universe. Or, you know what I mean.”

“Butterflies,” Niall hiccuped. Zayn had almost forgotten he was still there, he had been quiet for so long. 

“What’s that mate?” Liam said.

“Butterflies,” Niall repeated. “You two being here. It’s going to kill all the butterflies.”

“Niall, what the fuck are you on about-”

“I think,” Zayn interjected. “He means the butterfly effect. It’s tied to chaos theory. Basically us being here, one small thing we do, can have, like, a ripple effect, and have serious consequences further on.”

“Or like in Back to the Future!” other Liam piped up. “What if we start disappearing because you guys are here?”

Zayn thought carefully for a long moment. “Not that Back to the Future is science, but I don’t think what we’re doing is time travel. We are, as stupid as this sounds... ,” Zayn paused. “According to the book, we are simply in another universe, but I don’t think we’ve changed times. Or at least, not yet. And I think we are in a universe that’s pretty similar to ours, yeah?”

“I mean, you not being in the band Zayn, is really the only big difference,” Liam said thoughtfully.

“Well, I mean,” Zayn said. “I thought about auditioning for X Factor back in 2010.”

Liam turned on the bed to face Zayn. They were really, really close. Close enough that Zayn could see how chocolate brown Liam’s eyes were, and how full his lips looked up close. “What? You didn’t mention that in the car. I thought you weren’t a fan?”

“I mean, I’m not,” Zayn gave a bit of apologetic shrug. “No offense guys,” he said to the phone. Their counterparts merely shrugged back. “But I do like to sing, and I thought about it. But in the end I didn’t wake up in time, and I wasn’t really invested enough.”

“I almost didn’t wake up in time,” other Zayn sounded awed. “But me mum forced me to get out of bed.”

“Thank god she did,” other Liam turned and gave other Zayn a quick kiss. Zayn couldn’t help but stare, fascinated. They really were adorable together, but the thought made his stomach clench a bit, and he studiously avoided looking at Liam.

“So, are you guys, like out. I mean, as a couple?” Liam surprised Zayn by asking that question. The thought hadn’t even occurred to him. He looked at Liam, who was biting his lip and looking like he wished he hadn’t broached the subject. 

“Uh, to our family and close friends yeah. The rest of the boys know, of course,” other Liam said.

“And management found out a year or so in to us dating,” other Zayn said, expression darkening. 

“Yeah, they did. So the public doesn’t know, so we have girlfriends.” other Liam added. 

“Like,” Zayn tried to wrap his mind around it. “Do the girlfriends know?”

This time it was HIS Liam who responded. “Of course they know. It’s all arranged. It’s not real.” He sounded like he knew from experience, and Zayn realized for the first time that being a young millionaire in an internationally famous boy band might come at a certain price. 

“Oh,” Zayn said. “But, it’s the 2000s, would it really be a big deal if you came out?”

“Management and our contracts seem to think so,” other Zayn said. Zayn watched him give other Liam’s shoulder a squeeze.

"But," other Liam said, "I don't understand the video you saw. Why would Zayn have left the band? Like, he's still here?"

"And I don't plan to, at least not anytime soon," other Zayn said firmly, wrapping his arm's around his Liam. "Thought about it a couple years back, we all did. But then we took a bit of a break, and slowed down a bit. We might not sell as many records as we used to, or put new music as fast, but we're all a lot happier, so yeah."

"Well, then, if the video isn't from your world, and it's not from ours, obviously, where is it from?" other Liam looked perplexed. "And the gif you told us about, and the other video - we don't remember those moments ever happening in interviews. I mean, they could have, we've done so many interviews over the years. But, if they didn't, where did they all come from?"

"Dunno," Zayn said. "But if really is an infinite amount of worlds, who knows which ones they're from."

Everyone was quiet for a moment.

 

“But butterflies,” Niall yelped, interrupting the somber mood by waving his empty glass around in the air, and turning over so he was lying on his back, his limbs spread out, making him look, Zayn thought, like he was about to try to make snow angels in the mess of sheets on the bed. 

Other Zayn spoke up. “Well it’s too late, if that’s the case. You guys are already here, and we already met you. But, really, other than knowing that other universes exist, it’s not like we can do anything with that information, can we?”

“If they’re stuck here, and can’t get back to their own universe, that’s probably going to fuck things up,” other Liam looked serious. 

“So you guys have no idea how you got here?” other Zayn said, eyebrows furrowing. 

“We were in the car, and then I swerved to avoid that woman in the street,” Liam started again.

“Wait a sec,” Zayn had an idea. “We need to look for patterns.”

He grabbed the now familiar copy of “Breaking the Tenth Dimension” from where it lay next to him on the bed. Other Zayn and other Liam had found the author picture and bio amusing, but Zayn didn’t think they understood the full extent of what the book actually contained - which wasn’t their fault, as he was the only one who had a chance to actually peruse some of the material, even if most of the technical jargon went over his head. 

Zayn stood up and went over to the desk in the corner of the hotel room. He grabbed one of the hotel pens, and went back and sat down next to Liam. He opened the book to the back, where there were some blank pages and started carefully writing. He felt Liam looking over his shoulder in interest. After a couple minutes, he finished. He took the phone from Liam, and handed him the book and pen. 

“Anything you think is important, add to my notes, yeah?”

Liam nodded, and bent his head. Zayn watched his tongue stick out in concentration as he scribbled a couple notes. He realized he was staring, and looked over at Niall. He was passed out on the bed and snoring, still clutching a now empty glass. He looked down at the phone, and saw that other Zayn was whispering something in other Liam’s ear. Zayn didn’t really know where to look next, and was relieved when Liam handed the book back to him.

“Ok,” Zayn cleared his throat, and his counterparts turned from their whispering and gave him their full attention. Niall continued to softly snore. Zayn read out loud what he had written down, including the notes that Liam had added in parenthesis. 

 

Zayn’s Notes: Facts only!

Our Universe:  
Liam is in One Direction  
Zayn is a teacher (and model!)  
Jump to the next universe in the car (so the car goes with us?)  
(Where did Liam’s phone go?)

 

MultiVerse 1:  
We visit the coffee shop  
Other Zayn and Other Liam are experts in the field of Tenth Dimension Studies- see book  
(and roommates!)  
Jump to the next universe while in the coffee shop. (The car still comes with us even though we weren’t inside?)

MultiVerse2:  
Liam is in One Direction  
Zayn is in One Direction.  
We meet Niall.  
We meet other Zayn and other Liam (they are together)  
(secretly - beards :( )

“Beards,” Zayn said softly, trying to ignore the mild embarrassment that Liam felt it necessary to write down that he was a model. He modeled, but he would never say he WAS a model. 

“Fake girlfriends. Or, fake relationships, rather, to hide someone’s sexuality,” Liam explained.

“Yeah, I know,” Zayn said, discomforted. 

He looked down at the phone; other Zayn and other Liam were looking at him expectantly. But Zayn had nothing. 

“I got nothing,” other Zayn said, as if reading his thoughts. “Especially since you were in a car the first time, but then in a coffee shop the second time. So it seems like the place doesn’t matter? Or, it doesn’t even matter or if you are standing still are in a moving vehicle, I guess. I don’t know.”

“How fast were you going in the car?” other Liam asked. He still seemed to be stuck on Back to the Future.

“Mate, not fast at all, we were almost back at the school,” Liam said. “I don’t think speed has anything to do with it.” 

Liam got quiet, and furrowed his brow. Zayn thought he was thinking so hard it looked almost physically painful. 

“Yeah, I got nothing either,” Liam sighed. 

Zayn watched as Liam stood up, causing the bed to dip and taking his warmth that had been pressed up against Zayn with him, and went over to the other bed - he took the glass out of Niall’s hand and placed it on the side table, and then pulled the blanket over him and turned off the table side lamp, plunging the room into darkness - other than the soft glow emitting from Niall’s phone. Liam sat back down next to Zayn again, but somehow, in blanketing darkeness, it felt more intimate to have their legs and sides touch. 

“Well, mates, it’s been fun. And by fun, I mean impossible and weird as fuck to meet you both. But it’s kind of been the longest day ever, and I think me and Zayn need to get some sleep, even though it’s not really that late,” Liam said. 

“ ‘m not tired,” Zayn protested, but then yawned so wide his jaw almost cracked. It had been the most draining day, he realized, feeling like the invisible strings that held up his limbs had all suddenly been cut, leaving his body limp and weak. He looked at the phone, it was already ten. “What time is it there?”

“We’re four hours ahead, so 2” other Zayn said. 

“Ah sorry we kept you up so late,” Zayn said.

“Don’t worry about it, we’d rather miss out on some sleep then not meet other versions of ourselves,’ other Zayn grinned. “Plus we’re on vacation.”

“But how is it so bright by the water if it’s the middle of the night?” Liam wondered.

"We’re actually lying next to our pool, right under the light, we’re not on the beach. When you called we had just finished - well, we probably would have gone inside if you hadn't called” other Liam said, cheeks a bit pink. “Here, check out the view.”

Zayn watched as the other Liam turned his phone, and slowly gave a panoramic view of their surroundings. It was gorgeous, all lush green landscaping and fancy lounge chairs surrounding a beautiful private little pool, with strings of lights hanging between what looked like tiki torch lamps. 

“Nice,” Zayn said, once the phone was back on their faces. “I’ve always wanted to visit. One day.”

“It’s definitely worth a trip,” other Liam said, nodding. “We love it here.”

Zayn watched his counterpart lean in and whisper something in other Liam’s ear. They both looked at the screen, identical smirks on their faces.

“You guys should go take a trip here, or, er, to your world’s Maldives, I guess, when you get back,” other Liam said.

“Yeah, Leeyum, you should take him,” other Zayn said, eyes intense even on the little screen. Is that what he sounded like when he said Liam’s name? It sounded more like Leeyum than Liam. Zayn knew he had a strong accent, but still. 

“Uh, well, anyway,” Liam coughed, and Zayn felt himself annoyed and embarrassed in equal measure. 

“Keep us in the loop, yeah? If you can’t get back in a couple days give us a call. We’ll be back in London by then anyway, and we can meet up and try and help out, okay?” other Liam said.

“Yeah, let us know what happens. If you can contact us, I mean,” other Zayn said. “And really. It’s, like, a fucking miracle this conversation even took place. So, good luck, no matter what.”

“Same,” Zayn said. “Enjoy your vacation, yeah?”

“We will. Other universes, fucking amazing. It’s like our vacation doesn’t matter after today,” other Liam laughed. “A lot of things don’t even feel important now.”

“It is a fucking miracle, like you said,” Liam said. 

Everyone waved, and the call ended. 

Zayn sat there for a moment. The day had been so non-stop, that, once his panic attack had subsided, he hadn’t had time to properly absorb anything. But it was all crashing down on him.

“Leeyum,” Zayn said, and damnit, he thought, he did stretch out the vowels of his name. Oh well, Zayn was too tired to care about much at this point. “Is there a couch I can sleep on?”

“What?” Liam looked up from where he had carefully been putting Niall’s phone on the bedside table, then he stood up and turned went over and turned on the light in the bathroom and left the door open, so the room wasn't completely dark. “Take the bed. I’ll just push Niall over and share with him.”

Zayn looked around. The room was big and beautiful, but only had two beds and several chairs, he didn’t see a couch or anything that could fold out. He looked over at Niall, who was still starfished out across the middle of the bed. 

“Don’t push him over, you’ll wake him up. You take the other bed, I’ll go down and see if they have another room. He’s your friend, and we’re the ones crashing anyway,” Zayn said.

“Zayn,” Liam sounded exasperated, and he crossed his arms in front of his chest. “If they even have any rooms available, they cost like, over £500 a night.”

On the inside Zayn flinched. What a fucking ridiculous price. Outwardly though, he kept it cool. “So? You don’t think I can afford that?” Zayn couldn’t afford it. But he wasn't going to admit that to Liam.

“On a teacher’s salary? A teacher who spends his extra money on his students? Here, I’ll go see about getting another room for you, yeah?”

“That’s a waste of money!” Zayn burst out, before he could stop himself.

“But it’s ok for you to spend it? But not me?” Liam had raised an eyebrow, and he looked like he was trying not to laugh.

Zayn felt himself scowl, then tried to school his features into his best ‘I don’t care face.’ 

“Then let’s just share. It’s plenty big enough for two people,” Zayn said. Then he realized how silly they were acting. “Besides. After everything that’s happened today, this doesn’t matter.”

“It really doesn’t,” Liam smiled. “On the grand scale of events today, this doesn’t even register. Do you want to wash up first?”

“Sure, thanks,” Zayn said. When he walked into the expansive bathroom, he realized he was still wearing Liam’s hoodie. He also realized that the hotel was fancy enough to provide new toothbrushes and paste. The only hotels he had stayed at offered bar soap and crap shampoo. The very, very few hotels he had been too, he thought ruefully.

When Zayn was done, Liam used the bathroom. Zayn took off Liam’s hoodie, carefully folded it up, and put it on the chair that the back pack rested against. He made sure to carefully tuck the "Tenth Dimension" book back into the front pocket. Then he paused for a moment, before taking off his button down and black slacks and putting them on the top of the hoodie, leaving him standing in a t-shirt and briefs. He shivered - the hotel room felt much colder than when he he'd been wrapped up in Liam's hoodie - and quickly hopped into the empty bed, pulling the hotel comforter up to his neck. Zayn thought again about how the hotels he had stayed in had never really had comfortable beds - but this bed might be the most comfortable thing he'd ever laid on. He shook his head - first the soft leather seat of Liam's Ferrari, and now this fancy bed. It wouldn't do to get used to these types of things - Zayn had a hard enough time when he came back from a shoot and didn't have someone styling his hair or covering the bags under his eyes. Or when he had to look at his wardrobe and feel sad that he couldn't afford the style he really wanted, but got to see it up close and try it on, before handing it back over. Zayn shook his head. His thoughts were all the over place, he couldn't think for too long about anything. He let his mind drift back to his counterparts.

He wondered how long the other Zayn and other Liam had been together. It appeared to be quite some time, if their management had arranged for fake girlfriends and the like. He couldn't even imagine. At that moment, Liam came out of the bathroom, in nothing but a pair of briefs and his t-shirt. Zayn watched as his silhouette was framed in the bathroom light. For a moment he looked like a statue carved in marble, and then the light went out and a moment later Zayn felt the mattress shift and the covers were slightly pulled across his shoulders as Liam got under the blanket. 

"Leeyum," Zayn whispered, then realized that Niall had been asleep with the light on while they spoke at normal level, but it was instinct to whisper in the dark. He turned on his side, facing the dark lump he could barely make out, that was Liam under the covers. "Why us? Like, out of everyone in the world, why us?"

"Hmm," Zayn felt the mattress move again. He blinked, still adjusting to the darkness. Liam had turned towards him, as well, so they were facing each other. Liam whispered as well - "Whose to say it hasn't happened to other people?"

"I mean, maybe," Zayn said doubtfully. "Wouldn't it have gotten out though?"

Liam was quiet for a long moment. "Not if people went to another universe and never returned. Then people would think they were simply missing. And people go missing all the time."

"Well that's morbid as fuck," Zayn said. "But, like. In one world we're in a band together. In another, we're, like scientists. What does it all mean?"

"I dunno," Liam said. "But in both worlds we're together. What do you think that means?"

"We don't know that the scientist version of us is together?" Zayn protested.

"Zayn, they were roommates," Liam said, rather patronizingly. 

Zayn shrugged his shoulders in the dark. "I still don't understand that."

Liam giggled, and Zayn tried to see if his eyes were crinkling up, but it was too dark and all he could see was the outline of his face and the glint of his eyes.

"Do you think - " Liam began. "If we had met under different circumstances, things would be different?"

"You mean, like, if I was in the band with you?"

"Not even that," Liam said. "Like, maybe. But what if we had met, I dunno, at a party or summat. Like, a fashion show, or something, and we got to talking-"

"Why does it have to be a fashion show," Zayn said. "Why couldn't it be a McDonalds? Then what?"

Liam giggled again. "Ok, ok. Let's say we met at a McDonalds. You aren't even a fan though, so like. Would you even had talked to me?"

A scene from Star Wars suddenly popped into Zayn's head - Han Solo asking, 'Do you think a princess and a guy like me?' Except, Zayn thought, it was more like, 'Do you think a pop star and a guy like me?' 

"I dunno. How many body guards would you be surrounded by in the McDonalds queue?" Zayn said.

"Ha, come on. No more than one, really," Liam laughed. "Or, maybe I would just have them shut down the whole McDonalds, just for me."

"Ugh, pop stars. Why don't you just buy one of your own then?"

"Never thought about it. I'll have to look into a franchise when we get back," Liam laughed.

Zayn smiled, then his mood shifted. "If we get back," he whispered.

"We will, Zayn. We will," Liam said. Zayn felt the blanket shift, then a large hand was on his shoulder, and Liam was giving him a reassuring squeeze.

"Is this why I called you brave?" Zayn said, trying to calm his rising panic. 

"Did you call me brave?"

"Well some version of me did."

Liam squeezed his shoulder again. "Well, some version of me thought that you and I would have always met, no matter what, so maybe we're destined to meet in every universe-"

"Leeyum, stop!" Zayn had an epiphany - he realized he had also almost yelled. Much quieter, he said, "You squeezed my shoulder just now."

"Uh, what?" Liam said, clearly confused. "Sorry?"

"No, no. In the car, you hit the brakes and we started to swerve, and I grabbed your arm, yeah?"

"Did you? I can't really remember anything other than thinking we were going to hit that woman."

"Yes, yes, I know I did," Zayn was getting more and more excited. "And then in the coffee shop, I found the book, and then grabbed your wrist to show you the book, and then we both passed out and jumped, or traveled, or whatever you want to call it."

"But," Liam said slowly. "I just touched your shoulder. And nothing happened?"

"Maybe I have to be the one touching you?"

"Maybe," Liam said. "But we were sitting next to each other, our legs were touching, when we were on the phone, and nothing happened then?"

"Yeah, but that was just our legs touching. I wasn't like, reaching for you?"

Zayn felt Liam remove his hand from his shoulder. "Ok, your turn." Liam said.

"Ok, - wait a second." Zayn reluctantly got out of the way too comfortable bed, and stumbled over in the dark to the chair that held his clothes. Feeling around, he scooped up his clothes and Liam's hoodie, as well as his shoes, then shoved them in the back pack that was still next to the chair. "Where are your pants and shoes?"

"Uh, my pants are in the bathroom hanging from one of the hooks and my shoes are on floor at the foot of the bed," Liam said from the bed. "What are you doing?"

Zayn didn't answer, he just picked up the backpack and stumbled towards the bathroom until he was able to flick on the light; he blinked against the sudden brightness and found Liam's pants hanging from one of the towel hooks. He hastily rolled them up and shoved them in the backpack, but now there was no room for Liam's shoes. Zayn thought for a moment, then left the bathroom, leaving the light on so he could see into the room. He found Liam's sneakers where he said they'd be, and took a minute to thread the laces together through the backpack strap, so they were left hanging, but attached to the backpack. Then he set the backpack down on the end of his bed and went over to the desk, taking another hotel pen, along with a sheet of the hotel stationary, and went back into the bathroom where the light was still on, and scribbled out a hasty note for Niall. He went and tucked it under the empty glass on the bedside table, went and turned out the bathroom light, and then stumbled back into bed where Liam was waiting. He felt around for the backpack, hoisted it on his shoulders, and then rather awkwardly crawled back under the covers, the weight of the backpack, and the shoes dragging along behind it, rendered him off balance, until he was once again laying on his side, facing Liam.

"Wow, you think of everything," Liam said quietly. "But if the car comes with us, and we're not in it, wouldn't our clothes and stuff come to?"

"Well, just in case, you never know. I think the car - the car is almost its own thing, nothing about the car makes sense. I mean, even less sense then everything else, if that's possible." Zayn took a deep breath, snuggling further into the bed. Or, as much he could with the backpack digging into his shoulder blades. Then he reached forward, slowly, under the blanket, until he felt for Liam's shoulder. He gave it a gentle squeeze. Nothing happened. He squeezed again. He heard Liam let out a deep breath, and he let go and pulled his arm back.

"Ok, let's think," Zayn said, wide awake again. "The first time I grabbed your arm, you had your hoodie on. When I grabbed your wrist I touched your skin. So maybe your t-shirt is in the way?"

"Do you want me to take my shirt off?" Liam said quietly.

Zayn felt warm under the blanket, and he searched for the glint of Liam's eyes in the darkness again. "You could just roll up your sleeve-" He started, but Liam had already shifted and Zayn could hear, more than see him, take his shirt off. 

"Ok, go ahead," Liam said.

"Ok," Zayn said. He again slowly reached forward, and this time, concentrated on the warmth of Liam's skin, and the feeling of the tight muscle under his fingers. He squeezed, a little harder this time, and waited. Nothing happened. He withdrew his hand again, and tried not to feel discouraged.

"Maybe you're on to something," Liam said. Zayn couldn't tell if he meant it, or was just being nice. "If the first time was my arm but I had clothes on, and the second time was my wrist and you touched skin, maybe the next time we both need to be touching each other's skin for it to work?"

"Like each time it escalates in order to jump?" Zayn wondered. 

"I mean, anything's worth a shot at this point, right?" Liam answered. 

Zayn nodded, then said out loud, "Yeah, yeah, worth a try." 

Just like Liam, he took his shirt off, instead of simply rolling up his sleeve, and didn't pause to wonder why. It took a minute, as he had to shrug off the backpack first, remove his shirt, and then put the backpack straps back on. He tucked part of his t-shirt into the waistband of his briefs, and then scooted forward on the bed. He felt Liam move as well, until the glint of his eyes were right in front of Zayn's face. He could almost feel the warmth radiating off Liam's body, and he tried not to think about the fact that he, Zayn Malik -school teacher and patron of the arts - was in bed with Liam Payne, pop star and also apparently a soon to be patron of the arts - and they were both down to their briefs, and they had met a different version of themselves that were in a band and together. And they hadn't even known each other long enough for the earth to make a full rotation on its axis. It was all too much, and Zayn didn't know what else to do, other than whisper, "On the count of three, yeah?"

"Ok," Liam whispered back. "One, two - 

"Three," Zayn breathed out, and then they both reached out their arms, and as Zayn felt the strong muscle of Liam's shoulder flex underneath his fingers, he felt long fingers grip his own shoulder tightly, and Liam's arm brushed against his own arm. After a suspended moment in time, Zayn realized they were still in the bed and nothing had happened. But they hadn't let go of each other. 

"Can I just -" Liam asked, and Zayn felt warm breath against his lips, and Liam was close, so close. And, once again operating on instinct, like Zayn had since the long day had begun, he moved his hand from Liam's shoulder to the back of his neck, pausing when he felt the soft, short ends of his hair; he gently guided Liam's head closer and felt the most gentle pressure against his lips.

Zayn tilted his head and pushed back into the kiss. There was a bright flash of silver, and then everything went black.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like usual, this will be longer than anticipated. I changed the chapters from 10 to 12, but it MIGHT end up being one more than that. Time will tell!! 
> 
> Thank you for all the amazing and thoughtful comments, l'll say it again - seeing readers guessing or hoping what will happen next is my FAVORITE thing ever. Thank you for everyone who has commented, (or commented more than once, my heart!!) and left kudos.

Liam lay on the ground, wondering how many brain cells he was losing each time Zayn and him passed out, only to wake up feeling like his body had been through a literal ringer; all energy and life wrung out, leaving him ready for a ten hour nap.

“Leeee. Urgggh.” Zayn stirred next to him, speech slurred in a now familiar pattern of passing out, waking up, and feeling discombobulated for several minutes. 

Liam tried, in futility, to reply. “Weee. Field. Guu..Curr. Car.”

He turned his head slowly to see Zayn’s wide eyes very close to his own face. They stared at each other for a moment, and Liam remembered he and Zayn had kissed in the warm comfort of the hotel bed, and if they had kissed and then passed out and were clearly somewhere else, then it had worked. And if it had worked, that meant their theory on escalating touches was correct. And, and - Liam felt like his thoughts were building to a crescendo, a wild wave about to crest and break and wash over his brain, wiping out everything in its path - if that was correct and they had kissed, how would they have to touch the next time in order to keep moving through the vast field of universes? What did the universe consider second base, anyway, Liam wondered. Kissing with tongue? Something over the pants? Under the pants? He felt like he was going to pass out again. 

“Driiink. Drink.” A bottle was being shoved into his hand. Zayn was still horizontal, but he had twisted the backpack (and Liam never thought he would be so relieved to see the trusty backpack) in front of him and had pulled out two bottles of pink Lucozade. Liam focused all his energy on opening the bottle and slowly sipping, trying not to dribble down his chin as he was also still horizontal.

After downing most of the bottle, Liam took stock of their surroundings. As he had tried to slur out slowly to Zayn, they were in a field, and the miracle of a Ferrari had somehow followed, or traveled, with them. The car was several feet away, looking incongruous, a sleek black jungle cat at rest in the middle of a field of heather. It was dark out, it looked like the middle of the night, but away from the lights of any city the moonlight shone brightly down on them. Liam wondered exactly where the fuck they where. As if reading his thoughts, Zayn finished his bottle and propped his head up on his hand.

“Well, this is something new. We didn’t wake up in the same spot. Where the hell are we, anyway,” Zayn muttered, shoving the empty bottle back in the bag. 

Liam watched him pat the front pocket, probably feeling for the book. Liam stretched, and realized he was only in his briefs, then looked at Zayn, who was also still only in briefs; his tattoos shone in the moonlight, and Liam had to tear his eyes away from the dark black wings spanning across his collarbones. 

“Let’s find out, maybe the car can tell us where we’re at.” Liam said. His body felt less numb, there were only slight tingles running up and down his legs, and he could feel the rough grass and dry dirt under his body. He wondered, for the upteenth time, where the fuck he had left his phone, as he could really have used it by now. He also wished Zayn had a phone that wasn’t so severely dated that when he had asked Niall - mid-story explaining everything to the other Liam and Zayn - if he had a charger he could borrow, Niall had just laughed for a full minute after seeing Zayn’s brick of a model. Although, Liam reflected, Niall had been pretty deep into the whiskey by then.

Liam struggled to his feet, slowly, so slowly, and headed over to the car. Then he realized - keys.

“Hey, the keys are in my pants,” he turned back to Zayn, who had sat up but was still sitting on the ground, clutching the backpack in front of him like a lifeline. Between that and the car, they were the only tenuous material connections back to their own universe, other than themselves, of course.

Liam walked back over to Zayn, leaned down, and gently pulled him up by reaching under his armpits - Zayn was cool to the touch, but warm under his arms, and Liam could feel the bones of his rib cage under smooth skin - which was rather awkward, but Zayn was still clutching the backpack and looking around the field with some disbelief. Zayn was heavier than he looked, or maybe he hadn’t recovered from the jump as quickly as Liam, and felt like dead weight.

Zayn shook his head, as if breaking out of a trance. “Sorry, just can’t believe we changed locations this time.”

“Hmm,” Liam said, opening the backpack, still clutched in Zayn’s arms, and pulling out his pants, grabbing the keys out of the pocket and then putting on the pants. He dug in further, past the four remaining full Lucozade bottles and Zayn’s clothes, looking for his gym shirt that had been part of the original contents of the bag. The shirt he had taken off in the hotel bed hadn’t traveled with him, apparently; he wondered if Niall would find it the next morning, or if was lost to the hotel forever. He thought of Niall wistfully for a moment - he wondered if he would ever see that Niall again, or other Liam or other Zayn again. 

“Do you want to put some pants on, yeah?” Liam gently teased Zayn, as he untied the laces of his shoes that Zayn had tied to the backpack straps. He noted Zayn had his own t-shirt tucked into his briefs, and Liam smiled.

“Yeah, yeah,” Zayn muttered, setting the backpack down and pulling out his own pants. 

“Yeah, if the touches have to escalate, maybe the jumping does too? Like, we don’t end up in the same place anymore, or I mean - “ Liam stopped, frustrated. Thinking about the complexities of multi-universes muddled up his thoughts. “We don’t end up in the matching place in the next universe, I mean. Maybe each time we have to travel more distance?”

“I dunno,” Zayn said, all dressed and pulling on his shoes. He followed Liam over to the car as he unlocked it, the doors raised up, and they both slid in. “There are patterns. Even if things don’t make sense, they still need to make sense in their own way, yeah?”

“Uh, I think I follow?” Liam said, relieved when the car rumbled to life, the engine loud and familiar and somehow comforting. He looked over at Zayn, who was buckling up and had pulled out the book, turning it over in his hands. 

“Like, the touching - “ Zayn paused, and Liam noticed he was avoiding eye contact. “It doesn’t make sense in the big picture, really, but it follows its own set of rules, yeah? That’s why the car doesn’t really make sense. If we aren’t in the car at the time of the jump, and it’s jumping, that makes even less sense than if we were in it. And it makes sense if we jump and end up in the same place, but if we jump and end up somewhere different in the new branewold… unless!”

“Unless?” Liam asked, selecting the navigation app on the car's screen.

“Unless this is the same location, and in this world - this world is so different that it’s not a hotel standing here, but a field!” Zayn finished.

“So London is just a field now?”

“Maybe, like, there is NO London?” Zayn considered, flipping the book over again.

“Ah, well, hate to disappoint, but it looks like we aren’t in London at all,” Liam pointed to the screen. Him and Zayn had been dropped in the middle of a field that was about 30 minutes outside of Bradford, of all fucking places. 

“What the fuck,” Zayn said softly. 

“And that’s not all,” Liam muttered, perplexed. “Our routes already been preset. To an address in Bradford. This look familiar?”

“Who set the route?” Zayn leaned closer to the screen. “Nah, I don’t recognize that address. Looks like it’s on the opposite side of town from where I live.”

“Should we take a chance and see who lives there?” Liam asked.

“Take a chance, ha,” Zayn said. “What do we have to lose, at this point?”

“Alright - on the road again, then,” Liam said, shifting the car, and turning it very, very carefully around. The road, thank goodness, Liam thought, was barely half a kilometer away. He drove slowly, praying there were no large hidden rocks or holes in the field. Ferraris were not made for off-roading. 

Zayn once again read his mind.

“Off-roading in a Ferrari with Liam Payne,” Zayn said, shaking his head, and crossing his arms; he looked like he was settling in for the drive. “I must be in an alternate universe.”

“Hey now,” Liam said. “We’ve spent some quality time in this Ferrari by now, surely you’re used to it.” And me, he thought, but didn't voice out loud.

“Ha, I guess. Just not how I thought I’d be spending my break, ‘s all,” Zayn said. 

“It’s not that bad, spending time with me, is it?” Liam wondered.

Zayn was quiet for a moment, and Liam was beginning to regret asking.

“No, no,” Zayn said quietly. “Under less stressful circumstances, I think we’d have a sick time together.”

“Yeah?” Liam said.

“Yeah,” Zayn said, smiling. 

Liam glanced over at Zayn, or, he realized he was looking more at Zayn’s lips, so he quickly faced forward, focusing on driving through the field. 

Liam breathed a sigh of relief when the car reached the road; he eased on the road and then sped up. And then he sped through the night, headed back to Bradford, with Zayn once again along for the ride. 

They were mostly silent this time, but Liam didn’t feel uncomfortable. Normally he had to fill silences, but somehow with Zayn it didn’t bother him. He DID want to discuss the kiss they shared, but he also didn’t want to die of embarrassment, so he didn’t say anything. It’s not that he was embarrassed the kiss happened in the first place, he was just worried Zayn was resentful that it had, so he stayed silent.

After a couple minutes, Liam finally offered, “Pick some music if you want, yeah?”

“Ok,” Zayn said. 

Liam watched him lean forward and make his selection, leaning back with a satisfied smile on his face. The strains of Michael Jackson’s ‘Human Nature’ competed with the sound of the engine.

“Good pick,” Liam said.

“One of my favorites,” Zayn said.

“Mine too.” Liam felt a rush of elation. He might not know what universe they were in, and he was just getting to know Zayn, but one of his favorite songs was playing, and everything would turn out all right, of that he was sure.

 

They arrived in Bradford a short bit later, and followed the navigation to the address at the end of their route. 

“Who do you think lives there?” Liam wondered.

“At this point it could be the fucking queen, for all we know,” Zayn said. “I don’t even want to take a guess,”

Liam pulled up in front of a small, rather run-down brown rowhouse on a narrow street, and parked as close to the curb as possible. He turned the car off, and sat there for a moment. He looked at the car clock. 

“It’s the middle of the night… should we?”

“I don’t know about you, mate, but I’m beat. We never got to sleep,” Zayn said, unbuckling and curling up in the seat, one leg tucked underneath while he leaned his head against the window. He had grabbed Liam’s hoodie out of the backpack, and was using it as a pseudo pillow. “Whoever’s in there isn’t going anywhere, yeah? Let’s nap and wake ‘em up in the morning.”

“You really can just sleep whenever, huh?” Liam said, unbuckling and trying to get comfortable.

Zayn’s eyes were already closed. “Leeyum. Try and sleep. Longest day ever.” 

Liam made sure the doors were locked, then closed his eyes. To his surprise, he felt the tides of sleep begin to pull him under, and his last coherent thought was that him and Zayn had not even known each other a full 24 hours, and yet here they were. 

 

Liam woke up to screaming. He opened his eyes and blinked. The sun was just starting to peek over the horizon, turning the sky a light pink, and outside, in front of the Ferrari, stood a man yelling, gesticulating, and generally looking terrified. Liam realized he was looking at - himself? Wait that couldn’t be right. If he was in the car, how was he also outside the car? Everything clicked at once. 

“Shit, shit,” Liam said, scrambling to sit up and open the door. He looked over at Zayn. How the fuck was he still asleep through the noise?

“Zayn,” Liam yelled and shook his arm, then opened his door to try and quiet down the other Liam, who was still yelling. Other Liam? Liam 2.0? Liam 3.0? Liam shook his head, this was already so past ridiculous it was reaching levels of hysteria. 

“Hey, hey, calm down mate!,” Liam yelled, to the other version of him. Liam 3.0, he decided in his head.

“What the fuck?” Liam 3.0 yelled. “What the fuck is going on ? Who the fuck are you?” His hair was cut really short, and he was dressed as if about to go for a morning run.

Zayn chose that moment to get out of the car and look sleepily around. Liam 3.0 did not look pleased to see him. Well, that was an understatement, Liam thought.

“What the ever-loving fuck? Zayn? You were just in bed. You were asleep - you. You. Who the fuck - are you clones?” Liam 3.0 looked around wild eyed, as if expecting a clone army to come marching down the street at any moment. 

“What the fuck is going on out here - “ the door to the small house had opened, and Louis, of all people, was walking towards them, wearing nothing but joggers, with his bedhead in wild disarray. Well, Liam thought, a version of Louis, that is. He hadn’t met Louis 2.0 he realized, just Niall 2.0, but this Louis may as well be Louis 3.0. Got to keep things consistent, Liam thought, or his head would explode. 

“Clones! It’s clones!” Liam 3.0 yelled; he was practically jumping up and down, his arms waving around. 

“Listen, if everyone could just calm down for a minute, we’ll explain,” Liam tried to interject.

“Liam what the fuck - wait. Liam. What?” Louis’s eyes had gone huge, his head swung back and forth between the two Liams. Then he saw Zayn. “Zayn, what the fuck is this a joke?”

“What joke?” a grumpy voice said, and then Liam looked on in mild horror as another version of Zayn came out of the house, in nothing but briefs, hair falling over his forehead, and Liam noticed the same black wingspan tattoo across his collarbones, and the situation really, really wasn’t funny, but Liam bit his lip to hold back the hysterical laughter threatening to bubble up and overtake his sanity. 

Zayn (Zayn 3.0??) let out a frankly embarrassing (Liam thought) high pitched scream when he saw The combination of people gathered on what was presumably his front lawn.

“Leeyum!” he yelled, looking back and forth between the two Liams for a moment, before running over to HIS Liam and grabbing his hand, pulling him back towards the house. 

“Clones, it must be clones!” Liam 3.0 yelled. 

Louis 3.0 hadn’t moved, rooted to the spot. “Uh, listen, clone army, where’s my clone, yeah?” He almost sounded disappointed, looking around for his own double to make an appearance. 

“Listen, everybody, shut the fuck up,” Zayn yelled, waving his arms in the air. He had moved forward on to the lawn. “Do you want your neighbors to see this?”

That shut everybody up, and Liam was mildy impressed by Zayn taking charge. It must be the teacher in him, he thought with a smile. 

“Ok, good, that’s what I thought. We are NOT clones, yeah? We come in fucking peace, or whatever bullshit. Can we go inside and talk for a minute?”

Liam watched the 3.0 crew make three-way eye contact, which was not an easy feat. Zayn 3.0 was the first to speak. 

“You promise you won’t hurt us?” his voice shook but he stood his ground, hand gripping his Liam’s hand.

“Yeah, yeah, promise. C’mon, let’s go,” Zayn said. 

Liam followed his lead and started walking towards the 3.0 crew, who had yet to formally invite them inside, but he pretended like they had. 

“But where’s MY copy?” Louis 3.0 asked again.

Liam rolled his eyes. “Got any tea mate?”

“Yeah, of course,” Louis 3.0 said, looking offended. 

“You might want to fix a round,” Liam hoped this Louis was as good at making tea as HIS Louis was. “It’s going to be a long chat.”


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bonus update!!! Happy Sunday. :)

A couple hours, several cups of tea, and yet another retelling of the last 24 hours in the life of a universe-hopping teacher and pop star later, Zayn finished making a new annotation in ‘Breaking the Tenth Dimension,’ under his previous notes at the back of the book. The backpack was at his feet, close by as always, and once again he was trying to suss out patterns, and once again this Liam and Zayn, along with Louis instead of Niall, listened in disbelief, and stopped to laugh at the author picture and biography on the back of the book. Liam had insisted on referring to the other Zayn and Liam, as well as Louis, as version 3.0, which sounded dumb, but Zayn didn’t have any better ideas, and in the interest of keeping headaches at bay, he agreed.

Zayn passed the book over to Liam so he could any additional thoughts in parentheses, just like last time:

MV3:  
There is no One Direction band  
Liam is a firefighter(and sings karaoke on the weekends!)  
Zayn is a teacher  
They are together  
Louis is also a teacher, lives with them, and works with Zayn (where are Harry and Niall?? :( )

Zayn looked back over his notes. Liam had asked Zayn how to spell karaoke, and Zayn had patiently told him, ignoring the other Liam muttering that he was also a horrible speller. In every universe they had been to so far, him and Liam were together. What did it mean? Zayn wanted to tear his hair out. No really, he thought, what the fuck was this cosmic joke? Was the universe conspiring to show him that Liam and him might as well be together in their own reality? Zayn believed in fate, he did, but he also believed in the importance of free will and the ability to make choices. This didn’t feel like the universe was giving him a choice. 

He looked over at Liam. Zayn was struggling with the fact that, once again, a multi-universe (braneworld, Zayn’s brain corrected, thinking of his scientist counterpart) was showing him and Liam together as a couple, but Liam seemed to be devastated there was no band in this branewold. Zayn looked at the frowny face he had drawn questioning where his other band mates were. 

“So if you two teach together,” Liam said, gesturing to Louis 3.0 and the other Zayn, “how did you two meet?” He looked between the other Zayn and Liam 3.0, who were sitting together on a small couch, with Louis 3.0 perched on the arm. Zayn and Liam sat in two stiff chairs, and all of them sat around a small table littered with mugs and a large plate of several biscuits and biscuit crumbs. 

Zayn and Liam 3.0 turned and looked at each, lips both quirking up in identical smirks.

“Well,” Zayn 3.0 began.

“I was visiting a friend here in Bradford and we were at a bar, and Louis and Zayn were also there,” Liam 3.0 said. “And it was karaoke night-”

“And Leeyum here can’t ever resist a good karaoke song,” Zayn 3.0 laughed. 

“It’s true, I can’t,” Liam 3.0 laughed. 

Zayn watched his eyes crinkle up as he laughed, just like his Liam’s did, and he watched as Zayn 3.0 scooted closer to him on the couch, until their arms were thrown around each other. 

“Uh, what song did you sing?” Zayn asked. He had a feeling-

“He sang ‘Human Nature,’ and it was fucking good,” Zayn 3.0 was beaming. 

Zayn heard Liam choke on his tea. “Good song choice,” he wheezed out.

Zayn just shook his head. The amount of coincidences. Or, that wasn’t even the right word. The amount of parallels. They were piled up so high a mountain could form at this point.

“And you’ve been together ever since?” Zayn asked, curious. 

“Well, I mean, we met and talked that night. And then fast-forward a couple years, and I was asking about any job openings in the Bradford fire department, since I was still living in Wolverhampton, and the rest is history,” Liam 3.0 said, leaning forward and kissing his Zayn softly on the lips. 

Zayn shivered involuntarily; he couldn’t stop watching them. It was one thing to see it on a small phone screen; almost like watching a movie that wasn’t quite real - but to see a carbon copy of himself and Liam, up close and in the flesh, was unnerving at best and downright terrifying at worst. In the most primitive part of his instinctive animal brain, that rebelled against him sitting quietly in a chair clutching his tea cup, his physical being was telling him to run, run, far away. It was flight or fight turned up to eleven. 

“So we’re both teachers, but this Liam is a firefighter, hmm,” Zayn said, talking to distract himself from his more base instincts. “Is X Factor a thing here?”

“Course it is, we’ve all watched it for years, before we all knew each other” Louis 3.0 said. “I actually auditioned in 2008, and Liam did too. He got all the way to the judges house. We never met then though.”

“Wait so you auditioned then, did you go back in 2010?” Liam asked.

Liam 3.0 shook his head. “Nah, I was going to, but then decided it would be better to focus on finishing school and work on being a firefighter.”

“Can’t believe you didn’t go back mate,” Liam said sadly. “I just - you can’t give up, you know?”

“I didn’t give up,” Liam 3.0 said, sounding annoyed. “I realized I wanted to take my life in another direction. Life isn't one thing. If you don’t do one thing, that just frees you up for something else, you know?”

“Another direction,” Zayn said weakly. He looked at Zayn 3.0. “And what about you, did you ever audition?”

“No,” Zayn 3.0 shrugged. “I always knew I wanted to teach. I’ll keep singing in the shower though.”

“Yeah, both of you need to shut it with the bathroom singing, it’s fucking annoying,” Louis 3.0 said, but he was smiling.

“Better singing in the shower than having sex in the shower,” Zayn 3.0 said with a smirk. Liam 3.0 chuckled next to them, and Louis 3.0 shot them a glare. 

“House rules, you better not,” Louis 3.0 said, elbowing Liam 3.0, who was next to him. Liam 3.0 elbowed him back, causing the other boy to flail dramatically and almost fall off the arm of the couch

“And you’ve never met Harry or Niall?” Liam said quietly from where he had been sitting slouched in the stiff chair next to Zayn. He looked like a sad puppy, Zayn thought, and he had a sudden urge to reach over and squeeze his shoulder in comfort, so he did before he could second guess himself. Liam gave him a sad smile in return.

“I know a couple Harrys, but not the one you described,” Louis 3.0 said, straightening up on the couch arm. “And we’ve never met a Niall that I know of?”

“You should look them up,” Liam said, sitting up and looking re-energized. “Like, I know there’s no band, but I think you should still look them up. I think you’d all hit it off, you know?”

Zayn 3.0 gave Liam a small smile. “Yeah, we can do that, mate.”

Liam looked appeased, and Zayn wondered just how much of Liam’s identity was tied up with that band and his beloved boys. 

“So,” Louis 3.0 said, and Zayn had just met him, but he could tell by the tone of voice and half smirk on his face that he meant trouble. “Why you two? Like, why do you think you’re shown all this ghosts of Christmas past shit?”

“Louis’s the drama teacher at school, his students put on A Chirstmas Carol for the holiday play last year,” Zayn 3.0 explained.

“It’s not like that, we are literally traveling through space, not time. We’re being shown things already in motion-” Zayn began.

Louis 3.0 waved a hand in dismissal. “You know what I mean. What do you think the universe is trying to tell you?” he said, one pointed eyebrow raised. 

“I think it’s obvious,” Liam 3.0 said. “The universe thinks they should be shown they’re together in every other universe, so what’s stopping them in their own?”

“Well first of all,” Liam said dryly, leaning forward to swipe a biscuit. He didn’t take a bite, he just flipped it in the air, before catching and repeating the motion. “We just met yesterday. Doesn’t exactly give us loads of time.”

“And you had to kiss to get here, right?” Louis 3.0 said, eyebrow arching even higher, if that was possible. 

Zayn could feel the beginning of a blush starting, and he avoided looking at Liam, but he could see him still flipping the biscuit out of the corner of his eye, and he was tempted to reach over and snatch it out of mid air. 

“Yeah?” Liam said. 

“Well have you thought about what it will take to get to the next one? Or to get back to your universe or whatever? What will you have to do?” And here he turned and stared right at Zayn. Zayn felt discomforted. 

“Blowjobs, maybe?” Zayn said out loud. And then he realized he had said that out loud and wanted to die, just as Liam said -

“Dunno, kissing with tongues?”

The 3.0 crew all burst into laughter, and Zayn felt his face aflame, and tried to physically sink back into the stiff chair, which had no give and didn’t help him at all. He turned to sneak a look at his Liam, and to his relief he was laughing too, eyes crinkled and smile wide. Zayn felt the tension leave his body, and he joined in, the feeling cathartic. The laughter finally died down, and they all sat in silence for a moment.

“Uh, do you mind if I use your bathroom?” Liam asked. 

“Down the hall, I’ll show you,” Louis 3.0 offered, and they walked out of the room, while Liam 3.0 began to clear away the mugs and plates and walked into the adjoining kitchen, leaving Zayn alone with his counterpart. 

“Do you like teaching?” Zayn asked him. They had discovered that Zayn 3.0 taught at a different school than Zayn did, but the school had a thriving arts program, and he taught both literature and several well-funded painting and drawing classes, as well as art history. And he also pursued his own art in his spare time - the small house was filled with his both his and Liam’s paintings and sketches, which had made Zayn feel inordinately pleased. He couldn’t imagine any version of himself not creating art of some kind - and then he had one of those lightbulb moments - that’s why Liam couldn’t imagine a world without the band, because music was in his blood, the way art thrummed through Zayn’s nervous system. He felt a surge of empathy for Liam, and now he understood his lost look for much of his time in this world. 

“I do, I love it. Can’t imagine doing anything else,” Zayn 3.0 smiled. “But how did you get into the modeling? I could always use some more money?”

“Honestly, a designer saw a selfie I spent way too much time on from my instagram, and reached out to me, that was how I got my first job,” Zayn said. “Then I got an agent, but the whole thing is very part time. Here, I’ll write down the name of the agency - if it exists here you should reach out to them and just say you were referred, and then you can go in and they can take a look at you. Do you have any paper?” 

“Yeah, let me get some,” Zayn 3.0 said, getting up, and heading into the kitchen. Liam 3.0 came back into the room then, and smiled at Zayn as he took a seat back on the couch across from him.

“Listen, I know we all just met, and I know we’re the same, but not the same, if I have this right,” Liam 3.0 said, earnest brown eyes, familiar but at the same time different, boring into Zayns. “But I think you should give each other a chance, when you get back home. I think the two of you could be really good together, you know?”

“And how do you know that when you don’t even know us?” Zayn said. He wasn’t trying to be difficult, he was just trying to lift the curtain and see if there was really a wizard behind it, running the universe, or if this adventure was a yellow brick road leading to nothing but a sham. 

Liam 3.0 shrugged. “If any of us are even vaguely like the other, then I know that you should give this a chance. Zayn and I, well my Zayn - this sounds-” Lthe other Liam paused, a serious look on his face. “I don’t know how to explain it, but, we’re just ordinary people, yeah? Like, he’s a teacher and I’m a firefighter, and we live with Louis, and we’re just trying to save up some money for our own place one day. Like, there is nothing special about us, really. But at the same time, our love doesn’t feel ordinary? It feels fated, it feels meant to be, and it feels bigger than us.”

Zayn watched the other Liam, and the way his mouth formed around words, which, just like his Liam, was slightly obscene and hypnotizing at the same time. “How does it feel bigger than both of you?”

“I dunno,” Liam 3.0 said, eyebrows furrowed. “I can’t explain it. I just know what we have is special. And maybe, everyone in love feels that way, that their love is special. But with us it just feels - more. And meeting both of you, having you here, that’s a miracle, right? It kind of confirms it.”

A miracle. There was that word again. His Liam had said the same thing, used the same word. Zayn didn’t believe in miracles. But he was sort of living through something extraordinary, and the universe was clearly trying to steer him down a certain path. 

Zayn realized everyone had returned to the room, and Zayn 3.0 offered him a piece of paper and pen while both Liams and Louis 3.0 sat back down where they were before.

Zayn balanced the piece of paper on top of the book, and carefully wrote the name of the modeling agency down. After a pause, he passed the book and paper over to Liam, and handed him the pen. “Write down Niall and Harry’s full names and where they’re from, and anything else you think would be useful, yeah?” he said. Liam perked up at that, and started writing. 

“So,” Louis 3.0 said. “The Louis you know is in the band with you, and super rich and famous? Is he fending off advances from eager fans everyday?”

Liam looked up from writing and smiled. “He’s rich and famous enough, but he’s kind of taken.”

“Ah,” Louis 3.0 nodded. “Model? Actress? Shipping heiress?”

“Nah, singer,” Liam said. He finished writing and handed everything back to Zayn, who looked it over, satisfied, and passed the paper over to the other Zayn.

“Solo superstar or is she in a band?” Louis 3.0 persisted. 

“In a band. He’s in a band.” Liam said nonchalantly, but Zayn noticed his eyes were literally sparkling, he knew he had the other Louis there. Liam turned to Zayn, and gave him what Zayn thought a very sad approximation of a wink. It was more of a double blink. He giggled anyway, he couldn’t help it. 

“He? He. Huh,” Louis 3.0 said thoughtfully. “Who would have thought-” He looked off into the distance then, Liam had seemingly given him some things to think about.

“So, boys, this has been fun,” Liam 3.0 said, “but we can’t exactly take you out for a round of drinks at the local pub without raising some questions. Do you want to see if you can jump home now?”

Zayn cast a nervous glance over at Liam, who was staring at him intently. Zayn’s mouth felt dry but his palms felt sweaty, and the dichotomy of the two sensations was making his stomach drop. He tried to play it cool.

Liam cleared his throat. “Yeah, sure. Not sure if it will take us home, but, keep moving forward, I say,” 

Zayn simply nodded. He stood up, hoisting the backpack on his shoulders, and turned to face Liam, who had also stood up. Things were now officially awkward.

Louis 3.0 clapped his hands. “Ok, boys, we’re ready for a show now.”

Zayn and Liam both turned and glared, and the 3.0 crew just giggled. 

“Do you want us to leave the room?” Liam 3.0 asked thoughtfully.

“Uh, maybe? If you don’t mind,” Liam said so fast Zayn could barely catch it. 

“C’mon boys, let’s go,” Zayn 3.0 said, tugging Liam up from the couch and pulling Louis by the arm. 

“Wait,” Zayn said, and he walked over and tried to envelop the 3.0 crew in a hug. He felt a warm body press into this side, and then Liam was there and all five of them were in an awkward hug. When he let go of the others, his Liam still had an arm around his neck and was gripping his shoulder tightly. 

“It was nice meeting you. Weird as fuck, but nice. I hope you figure everything out,” Zayn 3.0 said, tugging the other boys out of the room. 

“If you don’t make it home this time, use protection on the next jump!” Louis 3.0 called after them as Zayn 3.0 dragged him from the room. 

“Louis,” Zayn heard Liam 3.0 scold, but there was laughter in his voice.

The room was suddenly quiet, and Zayn was hyper aware of Liam, who had not removed his arm, and was still gripping Zayn tightly. 

“Guess it’s just you and me and whatever the universe has in store for us, huh?" Liam said, right into Zayn's ear.

Zayn flexed his hands and tried not to shiver. "Guess so." 

Liam slowly turned him, so they were facing each other. Zayn watched him move his hands so they were gently cupping Zayn's face in his hands. 

"You ready?" Liam said gently. 

"It doesn't get any easier, the jump. But, yeah, ready as I'll ever be," Zayn said, feeling the beat of his heart, and feeling Liam's pulse in his hands where they touched his face.

Liam closed his eyes and leaned forward, and Zayn closed his eyes and met him halfway.

The kiss was different. Their first kiss had just started when they jumped - it had barely lasted long enough for Zayn to taste Liam's lips. This time, however, Zayn felt Liam's lush lips against his own, and he sighed into his mouth, pushing forward and opening his mouth just slightly.

Liam was still holding Zayn's face, and he tilted him, ever so slightly, and Zayn felt Liam's mouth open as well. Liam ran his tongue along the seam of Zayn's lips and Zayn couldn't help his full body shiver. He pushed forward, until he felt Liam's firm chest pressing against his, and his arms came up - he tangled one hand in Liam's short hair, and the other went to the back of his strong neck, pulling him even closer.

Zayn felt, more than heard, Liam make a small noise, and then Liam had let go of his face and was gripping Zayn by the waist. Liam pulled him in tightly so their chests and hips were pressed together, just as he gently licked into Zayn's mouth, running his tongue along Zayn's own.

Zayn groaned, and all thoughts floated away - he forgot that he was in the living room that belonged to yet another version of him and Liam, he forgot that he just wanted to go home, and he forgot that he had just met Liam yesterday. All he could focus on was Liam's lips and his tongue and his fingers gripping his hips so hard it almost hurt, but hurt in a way that caused shortness of breath, and then he felt Liam's hardness against his thigh.

Zayn pulled back, catching his breath for a moment.

"Are you hard?" he asked, his voice low and gravely.

Liam looked embarrassed, but he nodded. "I've been hard since you stood up and put the backpack on."

Zayn smiled. "Is that so? Hard with anticipation?"

Liam rolled his eyes. "Sure, you can say that."

"So, uh," Zayn hesitated. "Seems like kissing with tongues isn't quite enough to get us moving."

Liam subtly rolled his hips against Zayn, and now he could feel himself getting hard. Liam leaned forward and kissed Zayn again, but this one was long and close mouthed and sweet. But then Liam pulled back and whispered against Zayn's lips, "Are you saying its time to try your idea?"

Zayn blushed. "I said blowjobs, but it was more of a joke..."

"Was it?" Liam asked, looking as serious as Zayn had seen him. His brown eyes were so close it was making Zayn almost cross-eyed trying to maintain eye contact with him. 

"I mean, yeah, I guess. I don't know."

Liam smiled. "When we were lying in that field, I was panicking because I didn't know what the universe considered second base. And I- I didn't want you to do anything you don't want to, so whatever you are comfortable with-"

"Liam," Zayn cut him off, he could see Liam's brown eyes start to look wide and frantic. "I don't mind. I know we don't have a choice, really, if we want to get back. Or go forward. But I really, really don't mind. If you don't mind."

"I don't mind," Liam said immediately. "You're very beautiful. And, I feel comfortable with you. Even though we don't really know each other?"

"Well, we're about to get a bit more acquainted with each other, yeah?" Zayn said, and he leaned forward to kiss Liam, but this kiss was open mouthed and wet and not sweet at all. 

Liam responded, soft mouth opening up for Zayn, and groaning, low and urgent, when Zayn started sucking on his tongue. Liam's hips moved forward, and this time his cock found Zayn's, and when he rubbed against him Zayn groaned this time.

"Leeyum," he pulled away, breathless. "Do that again."

"Yeah, yeah, feels good," Liam groaned out. He sounded worked up, and that turned Zayn on even more. Before he could think, he reached down, wanting to feel Liam for himself. His hand ran along the waistband of his pants, and Liam pushed forward and leaned down to bite along Zayn's jaw.

"Leeyum," Zayn said softly, at a loss to say anything else. 

He ran his fingers along the waistband of Liam's pants again, and then he pushed his hand inside his pants and reached under the tight band of Liam's briefs. He found the hard length of Liam's cock, which was both hard and velvety soft at the same time and felt amazing.

"Zayn, fuck," Liam moaned against Zayn's jaw, and then Zayn cursed the universe, as a flash of silver interrupted his exploration, and everything went black.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Think of this chapter as an interlude, or breather, of sorts.

It figured, Liam thought ruefully - he was about to get the first real action he’d had in months and the universe interrupted. And it wasn’t even Zayn’s hand pulling on his cock- as amazing as that felt, although it was a large part of it - but it was Zayn himself. Liam was beginning to understand that the universe had thrown them together, and forces beyond their control were conspiring against them. It was him and Zayn that had fallen down the rabbit hole, and in order to survive Wonderland, they had to work together to decode the secrets of multi-verse travel. He realized that in the short time he had spent with Zayn, he was already looking to the other man for- not approval, exactly - but to make sure they were on the same page, whether it be calming down their counterparts, agreeing on music selections, or negotiating the level of forced intimacy they had to embark on. Now that Liam thought about it, the possibility that someone or something, some powerful cosmic being was toying with them, didn’t seem so far -fetched. 

Liam realized his mind was wandering at will because he was in total darkness, with a hand that wasn’t his own shoved down his pants, and he was propped up against a… padded wall?

“Fuuuuck.” And there went that slurred speech again. 

“Leee.” That was Zayn’s voice, muffled against Liam’s neck, so it was indeed Zayn’s hand down his pants. Wherever they were was completely dark; not a single light source permeated the darkness. Trying to take stock of his surroundings, Liam could feel more, now that sensation was creeping back into his body. Zayn was slumped against his front, and Liam’s back was pressed against the wall, which, now that he could move his left arm and feel around, was definitely padded. His right arm, he realized, was wrapped around Zayn’s waist, underneath the backpack. He felt around in the dark for the backpack zipper, and then blindly felt around inside the backpack for a bottle of Lucozade; he managed to get one out, and then tried to open without spilling, but his arms were wrapped around Zayn, and he was trying to open without sloshing the damn drink everywhere, and he was trying to ignore the feeling of Zayn pressed chest to hips against him. Thankfully, he was no longer hard.

“Zayn, you ok?” Liam shifted his feet, and held each of his arms out, giving up on opening the bottle for the moment. His fingers touched padding as far as his arms could reach. He began to think the enclosed space they were in was very small, and tried not to panic. He wasn’t claustrophobic, but the only thing that came to mind was him and Zayn were stuck in a very large coffin, and he was unnerved by the total darkness.

He felt Zayn move before he spoke - he withdrew his hand from Liam’s pants, and he tried not to feel disappointed, but then he heard Zayn make a small ‘oof’ noise. 

“Liam, how small is this place-” Zayn stopped talking, and Liam heard shuffling. A moment later, he heard a click, and suddenly he could see Zayn’s face, right in front of his own and eerily golden in the meager glow from the lighter he held in his hand. Liam was so thankful for a brief moment that Zayn was a smoker.

“Shit, what is this place?” Zayn whispered.

Liam tried to stay calm - the room they were in was the size of a small closet, but the walls were padded with several single size mattresses. The only reason he and Zayn hadn’t collapsed to the ground, like they typically did after a jump, was because the walls were literally propping them up. Liam’s back was against one wall, and the backpack Zayn still had on his shoulders was shoved up against the opposite wall, keeping them firmly together and vertical. Before Liam did anything, like start to panic or start to scream, he opened the bottle, now that he could see what he was doing, and took a huge swig, then proffered it to Zayn, who sipped for a minute. They took turns until the bottle was finished.

Liam handed the empty bottle back to Zayn, then felt around, trying to shift the mattresses to see if there was anything behind them; it wasn’t easy, as him and Zayn, and the backpack on Zayn’s shoulders, took up the majority of the cramped space. 

“Here we go!” Liam said, striking gold as his fingers grabbed onto a doorknob behind one of the mattresses. He grabbed and twisted. The doorknob turned, but nothing clicked or moved.

“What the fuck, c’mon,” Liam grunted. He carefully moved around Zayn, and tried to shift the mattress so he could see. The doorknob was clearly attached to a door, and he twisted back and forth, pulling it towards himself and then pushing it out, but the door didn’t budge, and the handle seemed either locked or broken.

“Fuck, fuck, c’mon,” Liam was so frustrated - he started pounding on the door. “Can anybody hear me? Hey! Is anybody out there?” He kept pounding until his fist started to hurt, and then he pounded harder. He felt Zayn grab his arm and he stopped trying to break the door down with his fist. 

“Liam, Liam -hey,” Zayn said, not letting go of his arm. “Don’t hurt yourself, yeah?” 

Liam turned away from the door and faced Zayn, who let go of his arm and took off the backpack, putting it on the ground, and then he slowly leaned back against the nearest mattress. He carefully held the lighter in front of him, and Liam wondered what the oxygen levels were like in the room. He turned back to the door, and knelt down to the floor - he was relieved to see there was a crack between the bottom of the door and the floor, so hopefully some air could get in. If there was any airflow in the room on the other side - but Liam didn’t want to dwell on that. He dragged the mattress away from the door, leaning it on top of the one closest to him, so that the entire door and the crack at the bottom was now visible. He then slowly sat down, suddenly exhausted again, with his back on the uncovered door. He realized that Zayn and him had split a bottle of Lucozade, instead of each having their own like they normally did. Zayn joined him on the ground, his back on the mattress opposite the door - their knees knocked together and Zayn gave up trying to find space for the backpack, putting it in his lap, and resting his long arms on top, still holding the lighter. Liam focused on the slender fingers that tightly held the little lighter. 

“If this room was bigger than a closet, I could get a running start and try to break down the door, but I don’t have enough room -“ Liam started.

“And you would dislocate your shoulder like an idiot,” Zayn cut him off, shaking his head. “C’mon now.”

Liam sighed. “Yeah, I know, I just - I’m not good at being stuck. Or sitting still, to be honest with you, never have been good at staying in one spot too long. And I don’t like not knowing where we are, or what’s on the other side of that door. What if we’re just floating in empty space right now? Like, what if we got stuck between universes, and didn’t make the full jump?”

Zayn let out a wry chuckle. “You think empty space, or like, the spaces between universes would be small rooms with a bunch of mattresses in ‘em?”

“Well no,” Liam admitted. “Highly unlikely. I wonder where the fucking car is? If it didn't make the jump this time -" he didn't finish the thought.

They were both quiet for a moment. Zayn looked thoughtful, then started laughing quietly to himself.

Liam smiled. “What?”

Zayn looked up, face cast in shadows. He arched an eyebrow. “Well, if we have to jump again, what do you think it will take next time to make it through?”

Liam felt himself blush, and hoped it wasn’t visible in the dim light, but Zayn’s knees and feet kept knocking into him, and they were breathing the same air, and Zayn was very close. “Uh, dunno.” 

“I mean, if we went from kissing to, that. I’m pretty sure next time I’ll have to put more than your tongue in my mouth, and I don’t think just feeling you up is going to cut it, “ Zayn said, smirking. 

Liam looked down, then looked back up to see Zayn’s eyes, extra dark in the low light, watching him carefully.

“Would that - bother you?,” Liam said. “I mean, if we have to, keep doing more and more. Would you, um, mind?” He felt like he was holding his breath.

Zayn slowly blinked, long lashes casting even more shadows on his face than usual, and looked up at Liam, lips pursed. Liam wondered if he had practiced that look in the mirror, or for modeling. It was such a small move, but deadly in its execution.

“No, no. It wouldn’t bother me. I won’t mind, I already told you that,” Zayn said quietly.

“I know, but I just don’t know how far we’ll have to take it, ‘s all. And we just met yesterday, which is crazy, considering everything that’s happened since. And I don’t want to do anything you don’t want to-”

“Leeyum,” Zayn said, and his hand that wasn’t holding the lighter reached forward, gripped Liam’s knee, and then slowly slid upward, until those slender fingers were squeezing Liam’s upper thigh. “There are very few things I WOULDN’T be willing to do with you, yeah? Consider this blanket permission.”

“Um, ok. Ok. Same,” Liam said, throat tight and voice husky. “Blanket permission.”

“Great,” Zayn said, releasing Liam’s thigh and pulling back. Liam took a deep breath, and Zayn dug into the backpack. “Here, I’m still pretty weak, let’s kill a second bottle together.”

They passed the second bottle back and forth until it was finished. 

“How many left?” Liam asked.

“Two. Two bottles left.” Zayn said grimly, tucking the empty bottle into the bag. 

“Let’s hope this universe or the next one sells Lucozade somewhere,” Liam said. 

“Or that we only have to jump one more time,” Zayn said. 

“Yeah, preferably that,” Liam said, trying not to think of home, his band, or his boys. 

They fell silent again. Liam watched Zayn for a minute; he wasn’t doing anything in particular, just sitting in front of Liam on the ground, legs crossed and arms hugging the backpack and holding the lighter, his gaze somewhere on the wall to Liam’s right. Liam looked at his profile, the way he looked both delicate and strong in the low light, sharp cheekbones and large eyes framed by perfect thick brows. Liam felt like he could stare at Zayn and not get tired of watching the play of expressions across those striking features. Zayn shifted and his eyes met Liams - he should have felt embarrassed, but he didn’t look away; instead he steadily met Zayn’s gaze. 

“Do you believe in soulmates?” Zayn asked. He paused, then tilted his head and grabbed ‘The Tenth Dimension’ out of the front pocket of the backpack with his free hand. He flipped it over and looked at the back cover for a moment, biting his lip. “Like, the tips on traveling - I just don’t know what to think.”

“Can you read them again? I honestly don’t remember them, other than the one saying to drink Lucozade to recover,” Liam asked. He didn’t remember the tips saying anything about soulmates, but then again his brain was pretty fried - and he worried again that each jump was causing some sort of permanent damage, to his body or brain or both.

Zayn held the lighter closer to the book, then read the list of advice, his voice low and soft -

 

WHEN TRAVELING THROUGH THE MULTIVERSE:

1.Don’t panic! (And don’t forget your towel).  
2.When jumping through a higher dimension into a new braneworld, your body will be depleted. Drink Lucozade! Lucozade aids recovery!  
3.ANYTHING is possible, and not only in the TENTH dimension. Truth is, after all, stranger than fiction.  
4.There may be an infinite number of universes, but there is only one you! Free will may well be an illusion, but at the end of the day, the choices we make change the path that we take.

 

“Free will may well be an illusion,” Liam repeated slowly. “I don’t know if that’s reassuring or not.”

“You live a pretty incredible life,” Zayn said, eyes so intense that Liam felt Zayn was peeling back all his layers, slowly, one by one. “What do you think? Free will or predeterminism?”

“Predeterminism?” Liam said, unsure. “Like, where things are set in stone?”

“Basically, yeah. That all things are predetermined - whether by God, fate, or a higher power - everything has already been decided and known.”

“But,” Liam said. He paused, biting his lower lip. He tried to think through the ideas swirling around in his head. “That’s terrifying, in a way, innit? That takes away the power of choice - it’s saying it doesn’t matter what we choose, because fate has already decided?”

“Some people would find it reassuring, like, that everything’s been decided for them,” Zayn said, tilting his head. “Maybe the higher power knows best?”

“I dunno. I like to think my choices have helped me get to where I am today,” Liam said, wondering if Zayn smoked anything other than cigarettes. This was the type of conversation that needed a joint to be passed around, he thought. “I think I’m incredibly lucky. Like, my life is one in million, yeah. But I think I helped make the right choices along the way.”

 

“What choices?’ Zayn asked. “I mean, what were the choices that changed your life?”

“Well, auditioning for X Factor the first time. And then when I was sent home from the judges house, I didn’t give up. I took voice lessons. I kept singing, kept performing. Then I went back, for the second time, and that’s where I was very lucky, I was chosen to be put in a band. And then we just kept getting lucky, you know? But we worked very hard. And I worked very hard. And that’s why I don’t understand why the last one - the last me, Liam 3.0 or whatever - how could he not go back? I can’t imagine a world where I wouldn’t try to audition again.”

“Liam, we were just in that world,” Zayn said gently.

Liam picked at his shoelace for a moment. “I know, I know. And there’s nothing wrong with being a firefighter. And he seems very happy, with - with his Zayn. And I’m sure they have a good life. But he does karaoke on the weekends, like. That just wouldn’t be enough for me. I would never be satisfied with just that. And I know that if I just work hard, and keep trying, and get very, very lucky, I can reach my goals.”

“I can’t imagine a world where I’m in a boyband,” Zayn said with a small laugh. “If that helps.”

Liam looked at Zayn. He had the looks, the style, and he had a quiet, yet engaging presence - and his day job was teaching. But beneath the calm surface, Liam had already caught glimpses of a more emotional, passionate persona, hidden beneath the cool exterior - Liam had always been a sucker for a good work ethic, and Zayn taking his extra wages and putting it towards helping his students, well, he couldn’t be blamed for wanting to know that side of Zayn even more. And he was clearly highly intelligent and sensitive. If Zayn could carry a tune, Liam didn’t think it would be too much of a stretch to imagine him as a singer, let alone style icon. 

“Can you sing?” Liam smiled.

“Yeah, yeah I can sing.” Zayn nodded his head. “Not the best singer, of course, but I’m alright.”

“So why couldn’t you be a professional singer?”

Zayn put the book back in the front pocket and tapped his fingers that weren’t holding the lighter against the the backpack. “I don’t know. It’s not the singing part that would be hard, if I was good enough. I’d be the being famous part. Like, what happens when you go to Tesco’s?”

“I try not to,” Liam said. “But if I do, yeah, people take pictures. It comes with the territory. But I’ve been doing this for so long. It’s not something you really get used to, but you just kind of resign yourself to the reality of it all. And you try to get in and out as quick as possible when they whip out their phones at ya.”

“Hmm, I guess.” Zayn said, and stopped tapping his fingers.

“What choices were yours? The ones that set you on the path for teaching? Or were you always fated to be a teacher, you think?” Liam asked, curious as to Zayn’s answer.

Zayn shrugged. “When I went to uni, I guess. That’s when I knew for sure that teaching was it. But I also had some amazing teachers when I was young, so that helped. I don’t know if I was fated for teaching, but it seems like something that was building my whole life. I love books, too, so the idea of teaching literature appealed to me. Nothing as dramatic as your inspiring story, “ Zayn teased. 

Liam laughed. “I don't know if I would call it inspiring, so much as I’m very stubborn.”

“You didn’t give up,” Zayn said simply. “That is inspiring.”

They were quiet again for a moment, Liam lost in thought. If he hadn’t gone back and auditioned a second time, where would he be today, in his world? Would he be bitter, wondering ‘what if’? Would he be content with a more quiet life? Sure, he’d have his privacy fully back, and he wouldn’t have to carefully guard it like he does now, but he would also have lost out on all the extraordinary experiences that opportunity had afforded him. 

“How do you feel?” Zayn asked. “Still weak?”

“No, splitting that second bottle really helped,” Liam said, trying to stretch his legs out, but there was really no room in the small space, so he ended up awkwardly unfolding his legs and putting them on either side of Zayn. 

“Do you want to try again?” Zayn asked, looking intently at Liam, eyes still glowing in the flickering flame of the lighter. 

“Try again? You mean, like-”

“Try to jump, yeah?” Zayn didn't blink.

“Um, sure. I’ve been worried about the oxygen levels in here as it is-”

“Leeyum,” Zayn cut him off, but he was smiling, his tongue poking out of his teeth. “Get over here.”

“Ok,” Liam said, swallowing hard. He pulled his legs in, then attempted to walk on his knees over to Zayn, but the backpack was right in the way. 

“Here, let me -” Liam grabbed the backpack, putting it on his shoulders this time, since Zayn’s back was against the wall. Zayn uncrossed his legs, then slowly slid them forward between Liam, who was still on his knees. He awkwardly managed to finally straddle Zayn’s thighs, and slowly sank down in his lap. Zayn looked up at him, and then reached out with the hand not holding the lighter, and pulled Liam in by a backpack strap, until Liam was right in front of his face, feeling his warm breath on his lips. Zayn clicked the lighter off, and the small room was back to being drenched in complete darkness. Liam didn’t mind, however, if it meant Zayn pressing his lips onto his mouth. 

This time there was no hesitance, no sweet movements. Liam didn’t know if was the safety of the dark room, but their mouths opened almost immediately. When he licked into Zayn’s mouth, he heard Zayn moan, deep in his throat, and he grabbed onto Liam’s ass and pulled him flush up against his chest.

Liam pushed down into Zayn’s lap, and thrust his tongue faster into Zayn’s warm mouth; Zayn responded by kneading Liam’s ass, fingers gripping firmly, and Liam started rolling his hips. He pulled back to take a breath.

“Zayn, fuck, how far are we gonna go?”

Liam barely heard Zayn’s throaty whisper, “Leeyum - as far as we have to. Wanna get back home yeah?”

Liam moved his head, and felt along Zayn’s jaw. He could feel stubble there, and he kissed, opened mouth, along his jaw line, then gently dragged his mouth back up and whispered in his ear. “Wanna get us home, but I also want to kiss you again. Can we keep kissing?” 

"Yeah, fuck, yeah of course," Zayn said softly, and then his lips were on Liam's, and he was sucking on Liam's bottom lip, and everything felt liquid and warm-

Suddenly Liam heard a clicking noise, and the locked door miraculously swung open, light pouring into the room. Liam turned and blinked, unable to distinguish the figure standing in the doorway for a moment until his eyes adjusted. And then he recognized the Cheshire grin, and the slow voice that accompanied it.

“What do we have here? Who’s your special friend Zayn?”

“Uh,” Zayn said.

“Harry, it’s me! Liam,” said Liam, confused.

“Hi Liam, I don’t believe we’ve met?” Harry said, politely. Liam was still in Zayn's lap, twisted around to see Harry in the doorway.

“How do you know Zayn then?” Liam demanded. Dread filled his stomach. They were still far, far from home. 

“What?” Harry said clearly confused.

Zayn groaned, head tilting back. “I’m in the band again, aren’t I?”

“And I’m not?” Liam felt a pang of sadness. It wasn't even his universe to feel left out of, but somehow he felt left out.

“Do you want me to just-” Harry mimed closing the door; he was already slowly backing out of the doorway.

"What version of Harry would this be?” Zayn asked Liam.

“Four? Yeah, think this is Harry 4.0,” Liam said, after counting on his fingers.

“I beg your pardon?” Harry 4.0 said, stepping back into the doorway. 

“I can’t believe I didn’t recognize this room!” Liam exclaimed. He turned back to Zayn. “When we are on tour we used to turn the closets in hotel rooms into little recording booths.”

“Can someone please explain what’s going on?’ Harry 4.0 said, voice picking up speed. 

“It’s your turn,” Liam said, just as Zayn said - 

“Not it.”

Liam sighed. “Fine, but let’s get the fuck out of this room first,” he said, standing up and helping Zayn to his feet, and together they left the room that for just a moment had been a tiny dark haven.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Life is about to get very busy, so I'm trying to update as much as I can, while I can.
> 
> I have read all the comments and have appreciated every single one. Thank you so much for continuing along.
> 
> ALSO:  
> [coffeewordangel](https://archiveofourown.org/users/coffeewordangel/pseuds/coffeewordangel)
> 
> (who is [empty-altars](https://empty-altars.tumblr.com/) on Tumblr)
> 
> made the most gorgeous [bookcover](https://empty-altars.tumblr.com/post/185785533344/front-and-back-cover-for-the-book-from) of the 'Breaking the Tenth Dimension' book. The front cover is beautiful, and the back cover is better then I could have imagined, and they also made an amazing [moodboard](https://empty-altars.tumblr.com/post/185764233839/im-almost-me-again-hes-almost-you-thebeehive) as well - the details are crazy good!
> 
> Please give them some love!
> 
> Also, feel free to come hang out with me on tumblr, i'm [thebeehive13](https://thebeehive13.tumblr.com/)

Zayn had just finished adding the latest multiverse facts to the growing list he and Liam were compiling. He was sitting on another hotel bed, Liam once again beside him, while Harry 4.0 (which still sounded so dumb in Zayn’s head, especially as he had never met the original Harry, let alone the 2.0 or 3.0 versions, but he had resigned himself to the fact more pressing issues were at hand) sat on the bed across from them. His wide green eyes had barely blinked the entire time Liam had recounted the story. Next to Harry sat Louis and Niall in all their 4.0 version glory, and most unnerving, Zayn 4.0 sat in the hotel desk chair that he had moved next to the bed, and had not taken his eyes off of Zayn; although periodically his gaze would linger on Liam as he narrated an especially harrowing part of their journey thus far. 

The moment Zayn had stepped out of the closet and into the light of the hotel room (where the startled hotel employee behind Harry had been standing the entire time, having just unlocked the closet door that Harry had accidentally locked from the outside; the poor guy probably thought the entire boyband was off their rockers, Zayn thought, as he almost ran out of the room) Harry had taken one look at him, and realized that something was off - once Zayn had pointed out not only his different hairstyle but his lack of hand tattoos - and how was it fair that multiple other versions of himself were allowed hand tattoos, which he’d wanted for ages, and couldn’t get- that was when Harry’s screeching and mild freak out had begun. 

Unlike Niall, however, he hadn’t hit the liquor, but he had texted his other bandmates to come to his room. A minute later the door to the hotel room opened and Niall and Louis 4.0 tumbled in, emitting varying decibel levels of yelling and screeching when they saw Zayn sitting on a bed, only to have THEIR Zayn enter behind them a moment later. It was, Zayn thought with some satisfaction, like watching people who were watching a tennis match, seeing their heads whip back and forth in confusion. 

This time it was Zayn 4.0 who mentioned clones, but was quickly talked off that precarious ledge of thinking. The boys listened to the entire tale, and then Zayn decided he needed to put some notes down.  
He waited for Liam to pass the book back to him after adding his own notes, and Zayn read it out loud.

 

M4  
Zayn is in one direction  
Liam is not ( :( )  
Harry, Louis, and Niall are also in One Direction (they are on tour)

 

The frowny face caused Zayn to look at Liam, who looked rather glum. Zayn knew how hard he had taken a universe where there was no One Direction - but to be in a universe where there WAS a One Direction and Liam wasn’t a part of it, well, Zayn could only imagine how Liam was feeling right now. He reached out his hand and squeezed Liam’s shoulder, then let his hand linger for a moment. He squeezed again, and was rewarded with Liam giving him a small smile, just an upturn of his lips, but it was something. 

“So, like,” Zayn 4.0 was watching them both closely. He had been quiet throughout Liam’s re-telling of the past 24 hours, unlike the other boys who occasionally interjected with either an exclamation or a clarifying question. “In your world, you’re a teacher, you’re not in One Direction. But Liam here IS in the band. But everything else is the same?”

“Well,” Zayn said, feeling hesitant. “I’m not sure if everything else is exactly the same, but it seems like that’s the biggest difference between this world and ours. I mean, in terms of our own lives.”

“And so far everywhere you visited, you two have been together, that’s the defining thread?” Harry 4.0 said thoughtfully. “Until now, that is.”

“Well, we don’t know that the scientists are together,” Zayn didn’t know why he was so stubborn about that, but he was.

Niall 4.0 laughed from the other bed. “Zayn, mate, c’mon they were roommates. Of course they’re together.” 

The other boys all laughed along with this world’s Niall, and even Liam smiled indulgently, which annoyed Zayn, as he had heard this before several times now. They had shown the boys the book and its respective authors, and Zayn 4.0 in particular had stared at the author photo for a long time. 

“So,” Liam said, once the laughter had subsided. “None of you have ever met me? My name doesn’t ring a bell?” 

He looked so sad and hopeful at the same time, that Zayn once again had the urge to comfort him, and he went on instinct again, putting his arm around Liam and pulling him in close, keeping them in a somewhat awkward sideways hug.

Louis 4.0 raised an eyebrow, and Zayn was having deja vu to Louis 3.0. It seemed that Louis was a bit of an instigator in every universe, and he had a sudden urge to meet HIS Liam’s Louis, or his world’s Louis, and get to know him. Zayn had a feeling they would get along swimmingly. 

“Sorry mate, we don’t know anyone by that name. But you sure you two aren’t together?” Louis 4.0 asked, and the smirk on his face was all too familiar.

“Bro, we said we met yesterday,” Zayn said, annoyed, although he realized the arm he had around Liam implied a different story. 

 

“You seem very cozy, “ Harry 4.0 said, faux innocently, and Zayn was beginning to realize Harry’s polite, wide-eyed demeanor was slightly misleading. He seemed like he could be just as much of a prat as Louis. And then Zayn remembered this Harry had also been the only to see them getting intimate in the closet. 

“We’ve been through some traumatic experiences together,” Liam started to explain, in a no-nonsense, reasonable tone, which Zayn very much appreciated.

“Trauma can bring people together,” Niall 4.0 said sagely, and Zayn just gripped Liam’s arm tighter, in defiance or in agreement, he wasn’t sure. 

Besides, Liam felt warm and solid under his grip, and he was the only thing that Zayn had, other than a damn backpack now that the car’s presence was unknown, that anchored him and reminded him of home. Even though, Zayn thought, that made no sense, as he had barely known Liam for an hour or so in his own world. And yet, in this world Liam was seeing his life the way Zayn had seen his right before he had his epic freak-out in front of the school that he thought he taught at. And whereas he learned that he was at least a famous popstar with money and a hot boyfriend in that world, in this world this version of Liam was a complete question mark. Zayn knew what it was like to have everything familiar stripped away in a heartbeat, so he wasn’t about to let go of his grip around Liam anytime soon. 

“But what exactly do you have to do to jump?” Zayn 4.0 asked, and Zayn might not KNOW this version of himself, but he did know himself, and he didn’t trust this Zayn now either. This entire band was full of troublemakers, of that Zayn was certain. He wasn’t going to let anyone rile him up.

“We told you, we have to touch to jump,” Zayn said smoothly, but he could see Liam trying to refrain from giggling under him. Zayn squeezed him harder in warning. He glanced over at Harry 4.0, who was smiling, and Zayn promptly avoided all eye contact with him. 

“But you said it has to escalate, yeah?” Zayn 4.0 persisted, his dark eyes going back and forth between Zayn and Liam. 

“Uh, yeah, it has to escalate,” Liam said, finally speaking. “So the first time it was my arm, but I had a hoodie on, and then the second time it was my wrist that Zayn grabbed. And then the third time we, uh, we kissed.” Here Liam stopped talking. 

Zayn had actually put Liam’s hoodie back on once they had stepped out of the closet and were waiting for this version of Harry’s bandmates to come join them. It wasn’t so much as the hotel room was chilly as it was he felt safer somehow, enveloped in the oversized hoodie that smelled like Liam. He snuggled further into the hoodie, trying not to look smug.

“But,” Zayn 4.0 said, leaning forward slightly. And Zayn saw the other bandmates also looking on with rapt attention. “You’ve jumped four times. So you had to do more then kiss, right?”

“I mean, yeah,” Liam said, looking down.

“Hardly anyone’s business,” Zayn grumbled. 

“I can’t imagine it would be that much of a struggle,” Zayn 4.0 shrugged, and Zayn looked up with a smirk, thinking his other version was talking about somebody kissing Zayn, but then he frowned seeing that Zayn 4.0 was openly staring at HIS Liam, and his Liam was looking back with a smile. “Not with those lips.”

“Well, anyway-” Liam started, but Zayn 4.0 stood up and cut him off.

“And those arm muscles probably don’t hurt either.” Zayn 4.0 slowly fluttered his lashes and continued to look Liam up and down, as he walked towards the bed where they sat, and then he reached forward and gave Liam’s arm a squeeze, right below where Zayn still had his arm slung around Liam’s shoulders and where he was still holding onto his bicep. He then sat down across from Liam and Zayn, right next to the other boys, who all looked like they were trying to contain repressed laughter. 

Zayn felt something twist in his chest. He wasn’t going to let some over confident pop star hit on his… his what? Zayn thought, uneasily. His travel companion? His multi-universe partner? But then he thought of the closet, and Liam’s whispered confession of “Wanna get us home, but I also want to kiss you again. Can we keep kissing?” echoing in his head. And Zayn wondered if Liam meant kissing in the heat of the moment before attempting to jump, or if he meant kissing Zayn even after they made it home. Zayn thought he wouldn’t mind kissing Liam even after all of this was over. If that was something Liam wanted, of course, and Zayn realized he was hoping it was.

And Zayn tried not to think of Zayn 4.0 as another version of himself, but with more money, tattoos, and better hair. Zayn scolded himself. What he lacked in money, he more than made up with in other things, he reminded himself. He had been to uni, he had a degree, he had a second job and he was a good - no, excellent, Zayn thought fiercely- teacher. He had plenty to offer. 

“No, you’re right,” Zayn said, in his most disaffected voice, directed at Zayn 4.0. “The arm muscles don’t hurt. They actually feel, like, pretty good. And his dick feels pretty nice, too.”

“Zayn!” Liam yelped, and Zayn was worried he went too far, but Liam just shook his head and gave him an embarrassed smile. Zayn 4.0 arched a brow at them, then gave a small nod. Zayn hoped it was in acknowledgment that he would back off. 

“Ok, ok, no need to overshare“ Louis 4.0 said. “We get it, no need for all the Zayns in the room to have a dick measuring contest now, is there?”

“Wouldn’t their dicks be the same length?" Niall 4.0 said to Harry 4.0, who just nodded in agreement.

“So, what do you think the purpose of all this is then?” Zayn 4.0 looked at them seriously, flirtatious manner dropped.

Zayn didn’t know how to answer that. He looked down at their notes. “Well,” he said slowly, thinking as hard as he could. “In our universe we didn’t know each other, yeah? Until Liam got the video and stuff. And he’s in One Direction and I’m not, obviously. And in the second multi-verse we’re scientists.”

“And roommates!” Niall 4.0 interjected.

“And roommates,” Zayn rolled his eyes. “In the next universe we’re together and both in One Direction. In the next one after that, there is no band, but we’re together. And in this universe, Liam’s not in the band, I am in the band, but we’ve never met.”

“Well, it seems obvious then,” Harry 4.0 said, in that deliberate way of his.

“What’s obvious Harry?” Liam said, tone colored with mild exasperation 

And Zayn wondered again what his universe’s Harry was like, and he really hoped Liam would introduce him to his band mates if they got home. When, Zayn corrected himself - when they got home.

“It’s like in that interview you said you got sent that you told us about- all of you had met beforehand, right? Or, not met, but before the band formed, most of you had been in the same place at the same time, except for Zayn, right?”

“Well, yeah, in some universe out there. The universe where we were in the band together, they didn’t remember that interview, but who knows? Maybe they just forgot,” Liam said.

Zayn didn’t understand why this Harry was so stuck on that specific interview. 

Harry 4.0 shook his head. “That doesn’t matter. I mean, it doesn’t matter what universe it comes from. But some version of you, Liam, said to your Zayn, we could have met, right? Even if there was no X Factor. Or, you could have at least seen each other, or been in the same place at the same time, yeah?”

Liam shrugged, and Zayn felt the movement under his arm, but he didn’t let go. “Yeah, that’s what that version of me said in the video - but what are you getting at?”

Harry 4.0 was not to be rushed. “Well, here - in our world, that is - we don’t know a Liam. So in this world Zayn and Liam haven’t met.”

“Ah, this is all correct, Harry, but what’s your point?” Zayn said, not trying to be rude, but wanting to know if there was indeed a point to be made out of this Harry stating the obvious.

“Road trip time!” Niall 4.0 crowed. 

“I beg your pardon? “ Liam said, polite and bewildered, and Zayn also had no idea what the boys were talking about. 

“It’s obvious,” Louis 4.0 said. “You said you’re from Wolverhampton in every universe, yeah?”

“I mean, so far- “ Liam said, and it suddenly clicked for Zayn.

“You,” he said, pointing at his counterpart. Zayn 4.0 just blinked, sitting quietly on the bed across from them. “You need to meet Liam.”

Zayn 4.0 opened his mouth, as if about to state the obvious.

“YOUR Liam,” Zayn amended. “You need to meet YOUR world’s Liam.” 

"What if I don't want to?" Zayn 4.0 said stubbornly, crossing his arms across his chest. 

Zayn just rolled his eyes. "If he looks anything like this one, or if he IS anything like MY Liam, then I know you'll want to meet him."

Liam turned and stared at him. Zayn was worried he would protest the use of the word 'MY'. But all he said was -"But we don't have the Ferrari anymore?"

"Don't be daft, a Ferrari wouldn't be big enough for all-" Louis 4.0 looked around the room. "For all six of us."

"You all want to go?" Zayn said weakly.

"Of course!" Niall 4.0 said. "Band road trip."

Liam looked worried. "And how are we all going to sneak you guys out of the hotel? What time is it, anyway? Do you have any interviews or shows today?"

"Calm down, Daddy Directioner," Zayn 4.0 giggled. "Do you worry this much with your own band?"

Liam just shrugged, which Zayn took to mean yes, he did.

"Today's a free day, so all good there," Harry 4.0 said. 

Louis 4.0 grinned. "And I have an idea on how to get out and get to this other Liam."

"No fucking bread trucks!" Niall 4.0 said, and all the boys groaned. 

"That happened here, too?" Liam said, incredulous. 

Zayn was so lost. "What bread truck?"

"Don't worry, we'll have plenty of time to tell you on the drive to Wolverhampton," Harry 4.0 said reassuringly.

Zayn didn't feel reassured at all, but Liam was handing him the backpack and helping Zayn put it on his shoulders, and he was beginning to feel less like deja vu and more like he was stuck in an endless loop of repeating faces, places, and incidents. As if his sensing his despair, Liam kept his hands on Zayn's shoulders after the straps had been settled, and leaned forward to whisper in his ear.

"We're getting closer to home, I can feel it Zayn, I really can. It's like, this can be our last mission, you know? Getting this Liam and Zayn to meet, and then all is right with the universe, yeah?" 

Zayn turned his head, and looked into Liam's eyes, which looked tender and melancholy and hopeful all at once, and Zayn had never met someone he could read so well. "Ok, last mission. I can deal with that." He smiled at Liam; if he kept searching Liam's eyes long enough, surely the secrets of the universe would reveal themselves, Zayn thought; or, at the very least, he didn't feel quite as homesick, and that was something.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, after this chapter, there will be ONE MORE chapter, and then finished. I promise it will stop after chapter 14, ha. 
> 
> Once again, your continued kudos and comments are the fuel to my fire. I crave that feedback! :) But I do read and treasure each one.
> 
> The "loaf of bread" theory mentioned in this chapter is to be credited to: Columbia University physicist Brian Greene, which is described in his book "The Hidden Reality." I kind of expand on the theory and make it into some more nonsense, per usual.

Liam felt like his stomach was eating itself. The only thing he had put in his system since he’d woken up in the Ferrari with Zayn outside the Version 3.0 house was a bottle of Lucozade, several cups of tea, and a couple stale biscuits. The lack of food, the standoff between the Zayns (whether over his affections or the right to squeeze his biceps, Liam wasn’t sure, not that he wasn’t flattered), and not to mention all the pesky multiverse travel, made Liam feel a bit lightheaded.

“Uh Zayn, we don’t even know where we are right now? So how do the boys think we can drive to Wolverhampton in an afternoon?”

The 4.0 boys might not be HIS boys, but Liam couldn’t help but refer to them as ‘the boys.’ HIS Zayn was standing there in Liam’s hoodie, holding on to the backpack straps tightly, and looking, Liam thought, tired but adorable. And when did he automatically start thinking of Zayn as HIS Zayn? Well, in his own defense, Liam was having a hard time keeping track of all these different versions of not only himself and Zayn but his band mates as well. Everyone was beginning to blur together into an amalgamation of faces and personalities, until Liam hardly knew where HE, the original version of himself, began or ended.

“We’re in London?” Zayn looked confused.

“How’d you know?”

“The hotel pens had the address of the hotel on them? Leeyum, you ok? You look a bit peaky.”

“M’fine. Just hungry, I think.”

They were both standing in the hotel room where Harry had found them in the closet, waiting for the Version 4.0 boys to come back and grab them when they finished making their secret accommodations to sneak everybody out of the hotel. Liam didn’t want to know what that entailed, so Zayn and he stood at the ready, per Louis 4.0’s orders. Keeping a duplicate Zayn out of sight was the smart decision; Liam hoped they were able to make it to Wolverhampton, a several hour drive, without getting caught. And then, how were they supposed to find this world’s Liam even if they did manage to get there undetected? What if this Liam didn’t even live in, or was even from Wolverhampton? What if there was no Liam in this universe? He started biting his nails, trying to block out his spirraling thoughts. Zayn’s voice brought him back to reality. Or, reality as he was currently experiencing it. 

“Sorry, what was that?” 

Zayn turned to him, but he didn’t look annoyed, just concerned. “I just said, yeah, I could use a smoke and something to eat, in that order. Actually, a nap would be nice.”

Liam nodded. “A nice meal and a nap. Now you’re talking.” 

The door opened, and Niall 4.0 stuck his head in - his hair was brown in this universe, and Liam liked it - he thought it made this Niall look more mature somehow. “We’re on the move, over and out.”

“Who are you talking to?” Zayn asked.

“Uh you guys, c’mon!” And Niall 4.0 waved impatiently.

“But there’s no walkie-talkie? Or radio?” Zayn said, but Liam just grinned and nudged him along.

“Better follow along, that was a direct order.”

Zayn rolled his eyes, but Liam was please to see he was smiling, nose crinkled up and eyes shining. “I feel like your bandmates are kind of ridiculous in every universe?”

Liam felt a pang for his actual band mates - the other versions were great, but they were no substitute for the real thing. “They are ridiculous. But I love them. When we get back-”

“If we get back,” Zayn interjected as they walked out of the room and followed Niall 4.0 to the end of a long hallway, where he gestured to a door marked emergency stairs, and they began to descend downwards.

“WHEN we get back. I told you Zayn, I promised you we will get back, And I keep my promises.”

“He does Zayn, you should listen to him,” Niall 4.0’s voice floated back from where he was leading the way down the stairs.

“And how do you know this?”

“Dunno, just sounds like something I should say, yeah?” Niall 4.0 called back.

Liam laughed, missing his Niall more than ever now. “Anyway, when we get back, if you aren’t too sick of spending time with me -” Liam hesitated, and then decided to get it out. “You should meet the boys? Like, they would love to meet you. And I would love if you met the versions - er, people - I know.”

Zayn didn’t respond for a moment, and there was nothing but the sound of their feet slapping against the steps in the stairwell, which, although well lit, was still eerie and empty, except for the echos they made. Liam wondered exactly how many stories the hotel was, as he knew they tended to put the band on the highest floors, and he figured this universe was no different in that small aspect.

Zayn finally spoke, sounding slightly out of breath. “Yeah, yes. That’d be nice, I’d like to meet them all.”

Liam smiled, feeling relieved, and then said, “Niall, hey, how much longer?”

“Almost there!”

Niall 4.0 stopped before an unmarked door, and then pulled out his key card and swiped it; the door clicked and he pulled it open, and Liam found himself in an underground parking garage. 

“Not all the guests get access to the parking garage, so we took the back way so no one could see you. Or , see that there is more than one Zayn,” the other Niall explained, leading them further into the garage. He stopped at an unmarked black car with tinted windows, “Other boys should be here right about now.”

As if on queue, Liam watched the rest of the Version 4.0 crew come running over from the other side of the underground garage. 

“Hurry, get in,” Louis 4.0 led the way and waved around a pair of keys, unlocking the car as they skidded to a stop in front of the vehicle, all three boys out of breath.

“Do I even want to know whose car this is?” Liam asked, getting in the back, as Louis 4.0 got in the driver’s seat and Harry 4.0 sat up front with him. That left Niall 4.0 on one side of Liam, and the two Zayns on the other. It was a luxury car, but the fit was still rather tight with all four boys in the backseat, and none of them could really wear a seat belt.

His Zayn was squeezed next to him, thigh to thigh, which instantly made Liam more relaxed. Zayn also held the trusty backpack in his lap, as well as partially on the other Zayn’s lap as well. 

“We could put that in the boot?” Zayn 4.0 suggested.

“Sorry, can’t,” Zayn said, not sounding sorry at all. “This has everything we need in it.”

From the front seat came the goodnatured bickering of the other Harry and Louis, debating the best course of action for getting out of the parking garage and setting the course for Wolverhampton. They could really use the Ferrari and it’s other-worldly (and Liam would have chuckled to himself if the ‘other world’ jokes weren’t wearing thin by now, even in his own head) navigation that somehow already knew where to take them. As unsettling as that was, it certainly saved time, Liam thought. 

“Everything like what?” Zayn 4.0 asked, looking at the bag.

“Uh, two bottles of Lucozade, Liam’s extra pair of joggers and socks, my button down I wore yesterday, and the book, of course.”

“And I put the Ferrari keys in there for safe-keeping, just in case we ever get it back.” Liam didn’t want to think about losing the Ferrari.

Zayn added darkly, “Or if the car doesn’t find us first. I wouldn’t put it past the thing.”

On the other side of LIam, Niall 4.0 leaned over and looked at the backpack. “That’s all that’s in there?”

Liam didn’t know how to explain that the only things from there world that he and Zayn had, other than each other, were in that backpack. 

Zayn just shrugged, which Liam could feel, since their shoulders were pressed so tightly together. “It’s all we got, you know?”

“Can I look at the book, if you don’t mind?” Zayn 4.0 asked.

Liam exchanged a look with Zayn - since their faces were right next to each other, he tried not to stare too deeply into Zayn’s eyes but he couldn’t help but notice there was a small freckle on his right iris. Liam broke his gaze and gave a nod.

“Yeah, that’s fine,” Zayn said, pulling out the book and handing it over to his counterpart. 

The car ride to Wolverhampton passed quickly; the two Zayns had their heads bent together, reading through the book and occasionally quietly mumbling back and forth to each other, while Liam was quizzed by the Version 4.0 crew about their counterparts in his own world - he wasn’t sure how much to divulge, he didn’t want anyone’s grandmother not to be born, or something to that effect, but then he remembered Zayn saying this wasn’t time travel. And besides, since the boys were in the band in both Version 4.0 and his own world, he didn’t think there would be too much harm. And it was a nice distraction from the fact that he wasn’t in the band here; he was curious to meet his counterpart - he wanted to know what his job was and if he was happy with the choices he had made - if there was a Liam in this world. 

As if answering his unspoken thought, Niall 4.0 spoke up, looking down at his phone. “Mates, good news - my friend got back to me, and we have an address for one Liam Payne of Wolverhampton. Well, not a home address, but a work address.” He gave the address to the other Harry to put in the car’s navigation system. “And he’s a fireman.”

“Again?” Liam and Zayn said in unison. Liam felt a sense of relief that he did exist in this universe, even if he wasn’t in the band. 

“Must be a popular Liam model,” Zayn 4.0 said with a snort.

Liam wondered about this Niall’s friend. “You have a detective for a friend or summat, mate?”

“Nah, Niall just knows everyone, whether they’re worth knowing or not,” Louis 4.0 snickered. 

“It comes in handy though, like in times like this.” Harry 4.0 said. 

Liam felt a pang of homesickness again. “My Niall’s like that too, everyone loves him and he’s friends with everyone.”

The car was quiet for a moment. Liam wondered if all the Niall’s across every universes were loving and carefree, with a plethora of friends. He hoped so. He tried to look out the window, even though he was stuck in the middle of the back seat. They had left London behind, and were now well on their way to Wolverhampton. But not HIS hometown. Liam glanced out of the corner of his eye to see his Zayn looking pensive as well; Liam reminded himself that he wasn’t the only one far from home. He nudged Zayn’s shoulder, ever so slightly, and waited for Zayn to turn and look at him before giving him a small smile. Zayn’s features softened, and he returned the look with a half smile of his own, along with gently knocking his knee against Liam’s own. 

Louis 4.0 broke the silence from the driver’s seat. “Alright then - you, Zayns back there with your heads in a book - find anything useful you want to share with the class?”

Zayn 4.0 spoke up. 

“Ok, listen to this,” he said, reading out of the book. “One popular multi-universe theory compares the field of universes to the following - picture our universe as simply one of many ‘slabs’ floating in a higher-dimensional space, much like a slice of bread within a grander cosmic loaf.”

Liam liked that analogy, it made it easier to imagine than what he had been picturing in his head before - an image that resembled a vast desert with an endless amount of spheres representing each world floating in the sky above the vast dry wasteland. 

“Ok, but what happens when you jump to the end of the loaf, then what? There’s just nothingness, or empty space?” Louis 4.0 asked thoughtfully.

Liam looked to his Zayn, who seemed to have the best grasp on the material. Liam reached for Zayn’s hand, which had been resting on top of the backpack, and gave it an encouraging squeeze. “I bet Zayn can explain, he’s read more of the book, but he’s also really smart. And a teacher, too.”

Zayn looked embarrassed, but grasped Liam’s hand back, and didn’t let go. “Uh, thanks Leeyum. I think, if you picture it like that - like, a loaf of bread, I mean, then after the loaf is another loaf? Like, so far every world we’ve been in has been very similar to ours. Even the version without One Direction, everyone we met was still fairly similar to us.”

Liam was about to interrupt, but Zayn squeezed his hand, and he paused.

“Like, yes, maybe they had, like, different life goals, or whatever, but the backgrounds, personalities, and some of their hobbies, were pretty close to us. So, I think we’ve been in the same ‘loaf,’ so to speak, for most of our jumping. If you keep reading in the book,” and here Zayn turned to his counterpart, “they go on to explain that after the fourth dimension, which is time, the braneworlds and dimensions get more complex, until the tenth dimension. In the tenth dimension anything is possible. So the dimensions start off with similar jumping off points to our own, but then start branching out - like when and how the worlds started start becoming less and less like our own. So, to simplify - the further away the loaf, or fields of loaves I think, the less likely they are to be similar to our own world.”

Here Zayn paused and took a deep breath. “Or at least that’s how I interpreted it. Does that make sense?”

There was a general mumble of agreement in the car. 

“So,” Zayn 4.0’s eyebrows were furrowed. “What about the professors, or scientists?”

“What about them?”

“Well, their slice of bread doesn’t seem to fit into the loaf, or whatever, that you guys are currently jumping through.” Zayn 4.0 said.

“He’s right,” Liam said slowly. “They’re older then us and the other versions, and they have a profession I could never do. They must be geniuses, right? They don’t fit.”

“But,” Harry 4.0 said from the front seat, twisting around to look at everyone in the back. “If they are from another loaf, or another field of loves, what does that mean?” 

The car got quiet again. 

“I don’t know about loaves,” Niall 4.0 said. “But can we stop and get food? Liam here’s stomach hasn’t stopped making noises since we got in the car.”

“And I need to use the bathroom,” Harry 4.0 said.

Zayn 4.0 huffed. “Why didn’t you use the bathroom before we left Harry? And Niall, we know that means you just want to eat, too.”

“There’s a McDonald’s coming up here on our left,” Louis 4.0 glanced at the navigation screen. “If everyone stops their whining I’ll pull over here.”

Liam exchanged a look with his Zayn. A McDonalds. Of course there was. It really was like the universe was toying with them. He wondered if McDonalds existed in the world of his professor counterpart.

“Just because you’re driving doesn’t mean you’re in charge of the car.”

“Yes, it actually does Niall.”

 

Ten minutes later, Liam was carrying several bags out of food back out to the car while the rest of the boys used the bathroom in the McDonalds before they hit the road again. The two Zayns were outside smoking together. Liam wondered if they shared an affinity for the same brand of cigarette, or if they differed in that respect. 

The Zayns’ backs were turned away from the McDonalds; they were facing the road, deep in conversation, when Liam came up behind them. He didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but he couldn’t help it. He heard Zayn 4.0 ask his Zayn “Do you think - you really think it matters that I meet my, er this world’s, version of Liam?” 

“Yeah, yeah. I think it does matter,” Zayn said. He took an inhale, and Liam watched as he slowly blew out an impressive smoke ring, which slowly dissipated in the late afternoon sunshine. Both the Zayn’s shone golden in the bright light, and Liam remembered the glow of Zayn’s face, lit golden by the lighter, in the small closet the last time they had shared an intimate moment. “The last Liam I met - the one who was also a firefighter - he said something. He said -”

Zayn paused and took another inhale on his cigarette. He slowly, slowly blew out another ring. “He said that him and his Zayn led ordinary lives and such, they weren’t famous or in a band or nothing. But, he said that their love felt - special. Like, their love for each other felt bigger than them. And then he said us being there was a miracle. I don’t know. It has to mean something, right?”

Zayn 4.0 was quiet for a moment. “Yeah, it’s not normal that’s for sure.”

Zayn huffed out a dry laugh. “That’s an understatement. But yeah. When I first met Liam, I thought, oh he’s not the worst, but he’s still a spoiled pop star. But he’s not, he’s really not. He’s so much more than that -” Zayn had seen Liam standing behind them.

Liam felt caught out, so he pretended he hadn’t heard anything. “Hey, got the food, come get what’s yours.” 

The Zayns exchanged glances, then reached for the bags, and the conversation was over while everyone stuffed their faces for the next several minutes. 

The rest of the trip passed quickly, and before Liam knew it they were pulling up to a small firestation on a quiet street in Wolverhampton. The street wasn’t familiar to him, which was just as well.

“Ok,” Niall said. He had been elected to go inside and fetch Liam 4.0. (“He doesn’t have tattoos!” Louis said. “And he has the least obtrusive hair, “ Zayn 4.0 explained. “He’s the least threatening,” Harry said. “Like you lot are threatening,” Niall snorted) and bring him back out to the car.

“What are you going to say?” Liam wondered.

Niall ran his fingers through his hair as he opened the door. “Eh, not sure. I’ll think of something.” And with a shrug, he headed towards the firehouse.

When he returned a couple minutes later, Liam 4.0 walked behind him. Liam didn’t think he would ever get used to seeing another version of himself, even if he jumped worlds for the rest of his days. This Liam looked like a carbon copy of himself, save for his hair, which was closely buzzed. He wore just a fitted white t-shirt and gray joggers. Liam looked again. No tattoos. That was a first. He wondered if this Liam had tattoos that weren’t visible, or if he truly had none at all. He wondered how much longer that would last with the influence of Zayn and the other boys, if this Liam became a part of their lives. 

“This one looks fit, too.” He heard Zayn 4.0 whisper to his Zayn. 

“Told you. I bet you ALL Liam’s are fit, yeah,” Zayn whispered back.

“I can hear literally everything you are saying right now,” Liam said, feeling himself blush.

Zayn nudged him. “Take the compliment, Leeyum.” He was smiling, tongue poking out of his teeth and looking like the very definition of mischievous. Liam felt his face turn hot from the force of his blush. 

“Ok, our time to shine boys,” Louis 4.0 said, and then the rest of the 4.0 crew got of the car, leaving Zayn and Liam in the backseat, but this Louis left the driver door wide open so they could see and hear everything.

Liam 4.0 stood there on the sidewalk, confusion all over his face when he saw the rest of the boys get out of the car.

“Nice to meet you, we’re One Direction,” Harry 4.0 said grandly.

Liam 4.0 looked around at each boy in turn. “Um, nice to meet you all. Did we - did the station win a contest or something?”

“I think this has become my favorite part,” Zayn said quietly in Liam’s ear while Niall 4.0 made introductions. Even though they had the entire backseat to themselves now, they were still tightly pressed together in the middle. 

“What part?”

“The impending freakout. Can’t wait to see if this Liam yells, or jumps up and down, or just runs in a circle.” Zayn was giggling.

Liam rolled his eyes. “You’re a bit of an ass, you know?”

“C’mon, Liam. You want to bet he says the word clones? How much you wanna bet?”

“I’ll bet you the last Big Mac.”

Zayn pinched his leg. It kind of hurt.

“Ow, Zayn, what the fuck?”

“You said we ate everything?” His eyes were big and accusing. 

“I said that so the other boys wouldn’t eat the last of it. Wanted to save a couple things for after we jumped again. Just in case.”

“Oh,” Zayn said quietly. “That’s a good idea. Sorry for the pinch.”

Liam just smiled and handed Zayn the food bag. “No worries. Here, put it in the backpack.” 

“Boys, come on out, it’s time!” Louis 4.0 crowed from outside the car. 

Liam squeezed Zayn’s shoulder. “Show time, c’mon.”

“There’s going to be mention of clones, I swear.” Zayn got out of the car first, and Liam followed.

When Liam 4.0 saw Zayn get out, he looked back and forth between the Zayns. But when he saw Liam, he turned noticeably pale and stepped back from the sidewalk onto the grass in front of the station.

“What the fuck. What the- is this a joke? Is this - is this being filmed?” He looked around wildly. “Is this for a show, or - what is this?” He took another step back. Zayn 4.0 was the one who stepped forward and gently grabbed his arm. 

“Leeyum, listen. I know this seems crazy, bro. It is crazy. But it’s actually a - well a miracle, I guess you could say, yeah. Or it’s science, I guess. Whatever you want to call it. Do you see that version of us standing right there?”

Liam 4.0 looked like he was struggling not to pull out of his Zayn’s grip. He wouldn’t stop staring at Liam. “Version of us… that’s your twin yeah? And that guy just looks like me, is all - what kind of fucking prank is this?”

“Let’s sit down, yeah?” Zayn 4.0 pulled his Liam down to the ground, never letting go of his arm. The rest of the boys sat down as well. And Liam tried not think about how ridiculous they looked, seven grown people sitting cross-legged in a circle in front of a fire station, as they were about to explain multi-verse theory to their latest counterpart. “Can I see the book?” he asked Zayn, who was cradling the backpack in his lap.

“Yeah, here.” Zayn handed it over, and the other Zayn showed Liam 4.0 the cover, then the backpage. They watched Liam quietly read the back for the moment. He looked up, eyes wide and face a bit sweaty. 

“I don’t. I don’t understand. Who made this book? What fucking joke is this?”

“No joke mate,” Louis 4.0 said. “But they’ll explain.” 

Everyone turned and looked at Liam and Zayn.

“Your turn.” Liam was firm.

Zayn sighed. “Fine. But I’m going to go quick - he’s getting the abridged version.” 

Zayn was true to his word, Liam thought. He went quickly through the events of the past 24 hours, which at this point they could probably both recite in their sleep. He also showed Liam 4.0 his “Zayn’s Notes: Facts only!” notes written down in the back of the book, and quickly explained each universe as it pertained to Zayn and Liam, the state of One Direction, and how the other boys fit in. Liam 4.0 didn’t say much, just nodded and looked wide-eyed, and kept turning his head to stare at Liam. Zayn 4.0 hadn’t let go of his arm through the entire re-telling, Liam noticed. 

“Any questions?” Zayn finally asked.

“Uh.” Liam 4.0 looked lost. He picked at a blade of grass and looked at Zayn 4.0 for a long moment, then turned to Liam and Zayn. “So you two are - traveling, I guess, to different worlds to make sure your … clones know each other?”

Liam felt Zayn’s sharp elbow in his side. 

“Yeah, yeah, the burger’s yours,” Liam muttered as Zayn shot him a smug look.

The other boys looked at them with raised eyebrows.

“Anyway - they’re not clones. We’re not clones, mate. They are different versions of ourselves. Different universe, different version. So you might be a fireman here, but in another world you’re a singer. Or a professor. Or who knows what. ” Zayn explained.

Liam added on, “And we don’t know why we’re traveling, exactly. This is the first world where we didn’t know each other. I mean, aside from OUR world. Since we just met yesterday.”

Liam 4.0 continued to pick at blades of grass. Liam watched as Zayn 4.0 gave him a small squeeze, and continued to hold his arm. He wondered if it was instinctual - if in every universe there was a Zayn and Liam who felt drawn to each other, felt the need to constantly check in with each other, give each other reassuring touches, and find each other’s gazes, whether across a crowded room or in a small closet. Liam wondered and felt an ache, deep in his body. He subtly tried to move across the grass closer to his Zayn, until their knees were touching. Zayn looked up and gave him a small smile and Liam felt the ache lessen but his stomach swooped. 

“It’s a lot to take in. It doesn’t feel real. I -“ Liam 4.0 looked lost, and Liam didn’t blame him He felt it was somehow harder to absorb all this for the versions that were never in the band. Something about the incredulity of being in One Direction seemed to make the impossible a little bit easier to accept. 

“Listen, Leeyum,” Zayn 4.0 said gently. “I know this is crazy, all of this.” He gestured around the circle. “But this, uh, version of me told me -” and here he looked up to Zayn, who nodded, and Zayn 4.0 continued,” - he told me that the last universe they were in, the Liam and Zayn in that one weren’t famous, or in a band, neither one of them. But they still felt that their -” And he hesitated again, but only for a moment, “- their love for each felt bigger than the both of them. So whatever all this is, what’s going on, we needed to meet, I think.”

Liam 4.0 was looking at Zayn 4.0; their bodies angled towards each other; and the grass was itchy under Liam’s hands, and the sun was setting and he could feel HIS Zayn’s knee against his, and he felt like he was witnessing a sacred and romantic moment that wasn’t meant for anyone of them to see - yet he couldn’t look away.

“Hey guys, let’s give them a moment, yeah?” Zayn suggested, and everyone stood up, except for 4.0 Liam and Zayn, who remained in their own world. 

Liam stretched, feeling his back crack, as he brushed off his pants. He couldn't help but be in awe of Zayn 4.0's fearlessness. Next to him, his Zayn was shouldering the backpack as they walked back over to the car with the other boys. Liam and Zayn fell to the back.

“Do you think -“ but what Zayn was about to say, Liam never got a chance to hear.

Liam felt someone grab his arm, and a familiar voice whispered in his ear, “Hold on.” There was a flash of silver, and then blackness, but this time Liam still had consciousness, and he was falling, falling through endless darkness, and his last thought before he did lose his facilities was, where the fuck was Zayn?


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this was going to be the last chapter, and then I had an idea, so there will still be one more chapter after this one. And then the end for real. I am loving all the comments, especially after the last chapter's cliffhanger. 
> 
> I so hope everyone is continuing to enjoy the story, and thank you for all following along, it means a whole heck of a lot to me! :)

Zayn came to slowly. He was lying on his back and he looked at what were presumably ceiling tiles. They were gray and white, and the alternating colors made him feel dizzy. They were also very familiar; he had seen these tiles before. He closed his eyes. The last thing he remembed, someone grabbed his arm and a familiar voice whispered in his ear, “We’re going to get there first.”

What the fuck, Zayn thought, and where the fuck was Liam. If he had jumped and Liam hadn’t jumped with him, he was going to lose his shit. He was NOT about to be stuck in a multiverse without HIS Liam by his side to help navigate the madness.

“Oh, look, you’re finally awake. ‘Bout time.” And there was that voice again. 

Zayn struggled to sit up. “Whirrr. Arr?”

He looked around. “Arr. Are you fucking. Me.”

He had been laying down on a long bench. Liam was next to him, eyes still closed, one arm slung above his head, the other one dangling off the bench. They were in the godforsaken coffee shop that Liam and him had originally been to, and then returned to in search of Liam’s phone, and then subsequently jumped from. Had they been to the coffee shop in three multiverses, since they’d jumped in the car before returning to look for the phone? Zayn’s head hurt.

Sitting across from him were, what had to be, none other than Drs. Malik and Payne. They were both wearing thick black glasses, and Dr. Malik was wearing a black bow-tie. Zayn looked closer - the bowtie had little planets on it. He wondered if he could get away with wearing a bow-tie in the classroom?

“Drink up,” Dr. Malik said, pushing a bottle of Lucozade across the table towards him, and it was a testament to his adaptability, Zayn thought, or maybe he was simply numb at this point, that seeing another version of himself barely phased him at this point. Although seeing himself aged was fascinating. Since the doctor wore a beard and his hair somewhat long and messy, in addition to the thick glasses, other than some creases at the corners of his eyes, he didn’t think he looked too different. 

Zayn was pleased to see it was the pink flavor. He took long swigs until he’d drained the bottle, then reached down and shook Liam’s shoulder. “Leeyum, wake up, we’ve jumped. C’mon, wake up.”

Liam grunted, then tried to roll over - Zayn grabbed him by the shoulders before he could roll off the bench and hit the ground. “Whaaa.”

“C’mon, you know the drill, sit up.” Zayn helped Liam sit up, and Dr. Malik pushed another bottle of Lucozade over. Liam slowly drank, and Zayn could see him taking in the doctors, no doubt examining his older self as well, which he had nothing to worry about, Zayn thought, as the older Liam was quite fit, and really rocked the beard and the hair that was so long it was starting to curl.

When Liam finished his drink, everyone just sat there and stared at each other for a moment, until Dr. Payne broke the silence.

“We won, you know,” he smirked at Dr. Malik. 

Dr. Malik looked annoyed. “I think you cheated.”

“And how, do tell, could we have cheated?”

Dr. Mailk straightened his bowtie and licked his lips in a manner Zayn recognized from himself when he was about to lecture a student.

“You clearly cheated, because you rigged the equation for the beginning of the jump. You tried to take a shortcut by skipping the fields in between the other fields-”

“Face it,” Dr. Payne cut in, voice rising. “You’re just a sore loser because you didn’t think to take the in-between fields out of the equation-”

“No, I play fair!” Dr. Mailk gestured with a wide wave of arms.

“Uh, excuse me, guys. Er, doctors?” Liam said. “We have a couple questions to ask you?”

The doctors turned from where they had been glaring at each other to face them. 

“So sorry, where are our manners?” Dr. Payne said brightly. “I’m Dr. Liam Payne, and this is my colleague, friend, and roommate, Dr. Malik. We are experts in the field of Tenth Dimension studies, but I believe you've read some of our book so you might already know that. To answer your questions-” Here he turned to Dr. Malik, who nodded, and bent over and picked up a briefcase, which he then laid out on the table.

“Ok, so, let me see here.” He rummaged through the battered briefcase for a moment. “Ah, here we go.” He pulled out a phone and handed it over to Liam. “I believe you were missing this?”

Zayn looked at Liam’s face, which was a mix of relief and irritation, his eyebrows raised up. “Where the fuck did you find this?” He fiddled with it. “Great, of course it needs a charge.”

“Ah, you left it in the coffee shop. In your universe, I mean.” Dr. Malik continued to look through the bag. “And then when you went back to retrieve it, you were already in a different universe by then.”

“Ok, then,” Liam said slowly. “Don’t suppose you have my car in there?”

Dr. Malik chuckled. “Ha, funny stuff. No, but you’ll get your car back when you get back to your universe.” 

Zayn felt his stomach drop. He had thought… “We’re not back home yet?” He reached out and grabbed Liam’s hand under the table. Liam gripped back tightly, and inched closer to him on the bench. 

Dr. Malik seemed to find what he had been looking for. “Ah, here we go!” He pulled out a book, and then handed it to Zayn, who was about to politely remind the doctor they already had a copy of their book, when he looked at the title.

“Finding Love In Every Dimension?” That was cheesy as fuck.

“Listen, we know that’s cheesy as fuck,” Dr. Malik said, and Zayn shivered, because yes, it was a different version of himself, but could the doctor actually read his mind or did they share the same thoughts? He decided not to think about it too hard.

“Cheesy as fuck?” Dr. Payne said, one eyebrow arched. “The title was your idea.” He turned to Zayn and Liam. “Don’t let the cynical exterior fool you, he’s the biggest romantic I know.”

“Well, of course I am - I found you after searching across how many fucking universes?”

Dr. Payne leaned over and gave Dr. Malik the most gentle of forehead kisses. “And I’m thankful every day that you did.”

While Zayn found the entire thing fascinating, he wanted to move things along. “So, what exactly is all this? I mean, why us? Why have us go through the different braneworlds-”

“Ah, I see someone has been doing their reading,” Dr. Payne beamed.

“Uh, yeah, I was able to read some of the book. But it’s been a busy fucking 24 hours, so I couldn’t read all of it. So, why us, why all this?”

Liam leaned forward, still gripping Zayn’s hand. “And why the touching? I mean, is that really the only way to jump?”

The doctors both wore twin smirks. Dr. Payne spoke first. “Did you not enjoy the touching?”

“Or,” Dr. Malik said, trying not to laugh. “Did you enjoy it too much?”

Zayn watched Liam turn a lovely shade of pink, and he looked down at the table. “It’s not that I didn’t enjoy it,” Liam mumbled. “We want some answers, I think that’s fair after all we’ve been through, you know?”

The doctors looked at each other and nodded, perfectly in sync.

“Fair enough,” Dr. Payne said. “Now, if you’d read our second book, ‘Finding Love in Every Dimension,’ you would know the reason WHY we do what we do. Sufficient it is to say, we have our reasons for doing this. But, in summation, we think every version of ourselves, every Zayn Malik and Liam Payne across the many universes, and fields of universes at that, should have a chance to meet.”

“Can I ask a question here?” Throughout the entire crazy ordeal, Zayn had struggled with the dichotomy of fate versus freewill determining the path he was on. Obviously, the doctors had intervened and set them on a path towards a collision course of having his and Liam’s lives forever intertwined, or at the very least having an experience he would remember for the rest of his life. But he needed to know how much of this was in his control. “Do you both believe in soulmates?”

Zayn felt Liam’s fingers flex where their hands were tightly joined, but he didn’t say a word, or move from his spot on the bench they shared.

Both doctors suddenly looked very serious.

“We believe in stardust,” Dr. Malik said softly.

Dr. Payne nodded in agreement. “Does that answer your question?”

Zayn felt frustrated. “Uh, not really?”

Dr. Malik leaned forward. “We are all made of star stuff, no? Bits and pieces of the same cosmic material, yeah?”

“Yes, I understand that. We all came from the same place. But is everything really decided out for us, taking away our choices?”

“Ah, I see. The classic argument of predeterminism versus free will.” Dr. Payne smiled and reached over Dr. Malik to pull another item out of the briefcase. It was simply a piece of paper. “Fascinating stuff that. Here, I think this will help.” He handed Zayn the piece of paper.

Zayn held the paper so Liam and him could both read it at the same time. At the top of the paper were the words “Golden” by Zayn Malik. What followed looked like song lyrics, or a poem.

Zayn read aloud the lines that he thought were most relevant.

“The choices we make change the path that we take  
But I know  
That somewhere out there there's a path that we chose.”

Liam spoke up. “So the Zayn that wrote this, did he know about the other universes?”

Dr. Payne shook his head. “No, he does not. Or, well, if he does it’s not through us. But that Zayn also just wrote an entire record where he talks about falling from space and other things that make me question what he does know, so who knows what the truth is.”

Dr. Malik added, “The Zayn that wrote that song lives in the world where everything we sent you is from - the Stephen Hawking interview, the One Direction interview, and the brave gif.”

“So, in that world,” Liam said slowly, “why did that Zayn leave One Direction?”

The doctors shrugged in sync. Dr. Payne answered. “It was complicated, there wasn’t one reason. That universe is a special case.”

“Why’s that?” Zayn wondered.

“You’ll have to read our book for that, sorry, we don’t really have much more time, you need to get going,” Dr. Malik said.

“Wait!” Zayn said, just as Liam said, “What the hell-”

“Ok, can we ask a couple questions real quick?” Zayn felt desperate. The scientists had just left him with more questions than before.

“Ah, I guess, but be quick - rapid fire question round, yeah?” Dr. Payne adjusted his glasses and gave them both a look. “Well, go ahead!”

Zayn nudged Liam. Their hands were sweaty with how tightly they were gripping each other, but Zayn wasn’t going to let go until he had to. “You go first.”

“Ok,” Liam said quickly, which for him, was very quickly. “Did you mess with the car?”

Zayn groaned, seriously he thought, Liam was going to waste a question on the car, really?

“What, I wanted to know!” Liam protested.

“Yes, we made some slight -modifications, if you will, to the car, but merely to help you along on your journey of enlightenment and self-discovery.” Dr. Payne answered.

“Ok, how did you two meet each other in your universe then?” Zayn wanted to know.

Dr. Malik smiled, then slung an arm out to wrap around Dr. Payne and drag him closer. “Now that is a tale. You will have to read the book for that. You can keep that copy-” he nodded at the book on the table. “It’s autographed, too.”

“Great, just great.” Zayn rolled his eyes. “Why did you want us to meet all the other versions of us in different worlds?”

Dr. Payne raised an eyebrow. “I should think that would be obvious by now, but for further answers read the book.”

Zayn wanted to yell, this was the opposite of helpful. “Why the fuck Lucozade then, huh?” He was running out of patience.

“Because Lucozade aids recovery, of course.” Dr. Malik sounded like he was explaining something to a small child. 

Dr. Payne checked his watch. “Ok, one more question, then time to go.”

Zayn looked at Liam. He looked as tired as Zayn felt, which was very, but his brown eyes were still warm when he looked at Zayn. “Your question, Leeyum.”

Liam looked at the doctors. “It’s kind of a double question - what world are we in right now, and will we get the chance to travel again?”

“We said one question and you have a double question. You’re always trying to find a way to cheat the system, I swear,” Dr. Malik said to his Liam, but he sounded fond. “We’re currently in our world, actually. When you found our book in the coffee shop, that was this coffee shop, so you’ve been here before, briefly. As to the chance of traveling again…” 

Dr. Payne picked up, “If we have a need for you, we will think of you two first, promise.”

“A need for us? What do you mean a need for us?” Liam said.

Dr. Payne leaned into Dr. Malick’s embrace wrapping an arm around him, and then they were both wrapping their other arms around each others fronts, and Zayn thought they looked ridiculous, like they were in some sort of pretzel hug, but it was also kind of adorable. 

“Well,” Dr. Malik said, “You did an excellent job with minimal direction from us. You not only got the last world’s Zayn and Liam to meet, but I believe you also gave instructions, in the world that didn’t have One Direction, so that the rest of the boys could contact each other as well.”

Dr. Payne added, “Overall, an excellent job. And you figured out the jumping catalyst on your own, so you see, we will call on you first if needed to visit any other worlds.” 

Dr. Payne smiled, and Zayn wondered what his Liam would like with a full beard; for that matter, what would his Liam look like in twenty years? Would Zayn still know him in twenty years? Would Liam still be in One Direction in twenty years, or would he still be friends with his band mates? And then Zayn thought of all the other versions they had met - and what of their fates? It was too much to think about at the moment. The fatigue in his body ran bone deep. 

“Ok, that’s it for questions. Time to go home you two.” Dr. Payne said.

“So um, do we have to? Like, you know?” Zayn asked awkwardly.

“Have to what? “ Dr. Malik asked, with a raised eyebrow and a smirk.

“You know, to jump,” Liam added helpfully.

“You know what?” Dr. Payne said with a giggle.

Zayn rolled his eyes again. “We gonna have to bone in the middle of this coffee shop to get back to our world?”

The doctors laughed in sync, Dr. Payne’s eyes crinkled while Dr Malik threw his head back.

“Ha, we’re just messing with you guys,” Dr. Malik grinned. “Just walk through the front door of the coffee shop and you’ll be back.”

“Simple as that?” Liam asked skeptically. 

Dr. Payne smiled. “Yup, simple as that. Good luck you two.” He attempted to wink at them, but it ended up being a super awkward double blink.

“God, you can’t wink in any universe, can you?” Zayn muttered.

Liam elbowed him “I bet there’s a universe out there where I can wink properly.”

Zayn looks at Dr. Malik, who shook his head and mouthed ‘no.’

Zayn giggled. “C’mon. Let’s get back to our time, yeah?”

“Uh, not to be pedantic,” Dr. Payne said, brown eyes narrowing, “But time is the fourth dimension, so you actually need to pass through time to get to your own braneworld, as you know, time itself is not a fixed point, nor is it not specific to you - both of you are but one of many floating through as feather on a river does, as you will. It’s a common misconception that-”

“Babe, shhh,” Dr. Malick cut him off and then gave him a long kiss when he opened his mouth to continue. 

“It’s weird because they’re old and wearing chinos, right?” Liam said to Zayn, as they watched the doctors kiss for a long minute.

Zayn laughed. “Let’s go.” He turned to the doctors. “Thank you again. I think. For explaining very little. But this was definitely an experience.”

“Yes, thank you so much,” Liam said earnestly. 

Zayn stood up from the bench, pulling Liam with him, as the doctors kept kissing, but both raised a hand in farewell. Zayn had a thought.

“Would we have met, the two of us, if you hadn’t sent Liam the videos?”

The doctors broke apart from the kiss long enough for Dr. Payne to say, “You’ll never know now, what’s done is done.” Then he leaned forward, and the kissing was more heated this time.

Liam looked at the register and nudged Zayn, pointing out the lone barista texting on their phone. “No matter what world, this coffee shop has the most oblivious baristas I’ve ever seen. Like, we all appeared out of thin air at that table, and they didn’t even blink?”

Zayn just shook his head, not letting go of Liam’s warm hand as he pulled them towards the front door of the coffee shop. 

They walked through the door hand in hand. 

They didn’t look back.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We have come to the end! I am emotional. A couple things:
> 
> I once again want to mention that the fabulous:  
> [coffeewordangel](https://archiveofourown.org/users/coffeewordangel/pseuds/coffeewordangel)
> 
> (who is [empty-altars](https://empty-altars.tumblr.com/) on Tumblr)
> 
> made both the [bookcover](https://empty-altars.tumblr.com/post/185785533344/front-and-back-cover-for-the-book-from) of the 'Breaking the Tenth Dimension' book, as well as the [moodboard](https://empty-altars.tumblr.com/post/185764233839/im-almost-me-again-hes-almost-you-thebeehive). To have someone make art for a fic is the dream, so thank you.
> 
> I can not thank everyone for the feedback on this fic enough. Every kudos, every comment, every multiple comment, everyone who came into my inbox and left messages on tumblr as well, I can not thank enough. So, so encouraging, to know people are enjoying something I made. 
> 
> I hope everyone enjoys the final chapter. Like, I'm super anxious about it lol. Let me know if you did! :) Also, I feel like this fic has like five endings. Like, I just kept adding on more. 
> 
> Also, feel free to come hang out with me on tumblr, i'm [thebeehive13](https://thebeehive13.tumblr.com/)

I would live a thousand lifetimes  
If it's you I'm sent to find  
If time stands still  
Move I will to you  
-Zayn - Stand Still

 

“And it’s been four days?” 

Zayn looked at his sister, who sat across from him in her apartment in London. He was spending the night at her place since he had a photo shoot for an online retailer the next morning. It had been four days since Liam and him had met the scientists, walked through the door of the coffee shop, and back into their universe. Their home. Finally. The Ferrari was parked in front of the coffee shop, and when Liam plugged his phone in to charge, he had been greeted by a barrage of missed calls and texts demanding his presence immediately in London for re-records for One Direction’s latest album. He had been in such a hurry that he dropped Zayn off back at the school, not even realizing that Zayn then had to go wait for a bus to take him home, which in his exhausted state had been the last thing he wanted to do. But then Liam had to drive back to London, and he had not heard from him since. When Liam had dropped him off at the school they had exchanged quick hugs and Liam promised he would talk to Zayn soon. 

But how was that even possible when they hadn’t exchanged numbers, and while Liam was plastered all over social media, Zayn barely used Instagram, and he hesitated to reach out to Liam that way, like he was just a fan, and not someone who had shared a mind-blowing, life-altering experience with him. 

Zayn had carefully edited all mentions of multi-universe travel out of the tale he related to Doniya; instead, he mentioned that Liam had come to his school as a generous benefactor and a patron of the arts when he had come across the article of Zayn discussing putting his modeling money towards his school's lack of arts programming. Liam paid Hanson Academy a visit, and stuffy Headmaster Coveys appointed Zayn lead liaison on the new, soon to be funded arts program. Liam and Zayn had gone for coffee and spent a whirlwind 48 hours together after an instant bond was formed. 

Doniya had seemed, rightly so, skeptical at first, but the more Zayn had gone on with the story, her disbelieving face gradually transformed into a soft smile. Until Zayn had let out there had been nothing but radio silence afterwards. Then she went into older sister protective mode. 

“Yeah, four days.” Zayn looked down at his hands folded in his lap. He tried not to sigh. He looked up to see his sister frowning.

“Zayn listen. If he never reaches back out to you, then he’s not worth it. I’m sure he’s very nice, and if he goes ahead with paying for the program, then good for you and good for the students. But, if he never talks to you again, then fuck him. Really, ok?”

Zayn allowed himself a full blown, dramatic sigh. “I know. I know. I just thought…”

“I mean it. He’s not worth it if he blows you off. You are so much better than that. But,” Doniya paused, then said, more gently than before. “The universe works in mysterious ways.”

Zayn started to chuckle. “The universe. The fucking universe works-” His chuckle turned into a strangled sob, and then he put his face in his hands to muffle the sound and hide from the concerned eyes of his sister.

“Hey, hey.” Doniya came over to the couch and sat down next to him, putting her arm around him. “It’s ok. It’s ok. Fuck that washed up popstar if he doesn’t talk to you again, yeah?”

Zayn remembered when they were children, and his younger sisters were still babies, and how Doniya was always there for him. He loved all his cousins, of course, and his baby sisters, but Doniya was special and his constant rock. 

He laughed through the tears. “He’s not washed up.”

Doniya scowled, but drew him in closer. “Well, I’ve never heard of One Direction.”

Zayn shook his head at the obvious lie. He loved his sister.

 

That night, as he lay on Doniya’s couch trying to fall asleep, Zayn remembered the book. He got up and used his phone as a flashlight so he wouldn’t stumble around in the dark, and pulled out the copy of “Finding Love in Every Dimension” from his overnight bag. He opened it up, smiling at the messy signatures on the first blank page. Dr. Malik’s signature looked very similar to his own, with slightly more loops and swirls. He turned to the first chapter, titled, “How We Met,” and began to read.

 

Chapter 1: How We Met.

Dr. Malik wasn’t always a world renowned expert in Tenth Dimension studies, he was once a child, like everyone else. He was born and named Zayn, and became a boy genius, so precocious that he understood string theory before he was even able to tie his own shoelaces, and then created complex equations and mastered scientific breakthroughs before his tenth birthday. He discovered the secret to multi-universe braneworld travel before he went to university at age fifteen. But the more worlds he visited, the more he found that in almost every world his other universe counterpart Zayn was with the same person: one Liam Payne. No matter what their profession, their lot or luck in life, the different versions of him and Liam were together. 

So after a long year of jumping between braneworlds (it was how he spent his gap year), Zayn returned to his own world, to seek out his own Liam. But there was no Liam in his world. The Paynes had two daughters, but no son. Zayn was devastated. How could fortune frown upon him so, when all his counterparts were blessed with meeting their Liam, or, at the very least, living in a world where that was a possibility?

Then he had a bright idea - if his world had no Liam, then surely there was a world out there, somewhere in the multi-verse, where there existed a Liam without a Zayn of his own?

He was determined to find that world.

In his first year of uni Zayn figured out how to travel between the fields of braneworlds. Now the possibilities were truly endless and his search became a quest across all dimensions to find his Liam. In his travels, the further away from his own world that he jumped, he found several braneworlds where Liams and Zayns had never met, so he introduced them to each other. He started systematically searching, world by world, field by field, dimension by dimension - it was not an easy process, but eventually he enlisted friends for help: Niall, Louis, and Harry. None of them were boy geniuses like Zayn, but he met them at school and they were loyal and hilarious, if a somewhat easily distracted, group. They got along so well, as if they were always fated to be friends.

Zayn trained them to travel between worlds, and they started helping him search for his Liam. At first, they thought he was crazy; the world was full of people, after all, and he was not only a genius, but rather handsome. He could have his pick of people, his friends insisted; why was he holding out for one person who might not exist? He agreed - the world was full of people, and no doubt there might be several that could make him happy, and maybe even a couple he could build a life with. But he didn't want that. He wanted Liam. And Zayn was nothing if not stubborn and determined. Everywhere he went, he felt cheated when he watched the other Liams and Zayns, who looked at each other as if they have traveled great distances to gaze upon the love of their life. Of all their lives really: all of the Zayns and Liams out there. 

Zayn wanted that. He wanted it with his Liam. And he wouldn't settle for anything less. Besides - if his world didn’t have a Liam, but he was smart enough to figure out how to travel the multi-verse, while so far no other Zayn he had met had been able to, or even possessed that type of scientific curiosity to seek it out, then he had to be a genius for a reason. He was gifted with the ability so he could find his Liam, and help other versions of himself do the same along the way, he decided.

His friends graduated uni. They still tried to help, but they were busy with jobs and relationships and friends and families and building their lives. Zayn began work on his third PhD, being a genius and all, and he still had time. But the years passed, and he didn't find his Liam. In his world, Louis and Harry fell in love, and Niall opened a successful chain of chicken restaurants called Nando's. And Zayn continued to devote himself to his studies and the search for his Liam. 

When he started working on his fourth PhD, Zayn discovered a new plane of branewolds, far away from his own home. In this plane, most of the versions of him and Liam were in a band called One Direction, along with the counterparts of Niall, Louis and Harry. Their versions in these worlds had amazing experiences and opportunities, but life was not always easy. Sometimes they were both in the band together, sometimes only one of them was in the band. Sometimes the band was together for years, and other times the band didn’t make it past the judge's house on the television show X Factor where they all met.

By the time he started traveling in the One Direction field of universes, as he referred to them, Zayn was in his 30s. He knew he still had many, many good years ahead, but he grew tired. In every world where there was a Zayn, there was a Liam. And Zayn was getting desperate. For he had fallen deep, deeply in love with Liam, over and over again. Every version he had ever met - whether in a band, or a firefighter, or a teacher, or a banker, or a personal trainer, or a criminal; he was a little bit in love with all of them. But they were spoken for; they were not meant for him.

One day, he traveled to a new braneworld to continue to look for his Liam. He found himself at a One Direction concert. Sometimes, his phone worked across different worlds, but generally not. Zayn looked at his phone, cursing; he was determined to one day invent a phone or device that worked across universes, as it would save him so much time to do a simple Google search when he jumped to see if Liam existed, versus having to physically hunt him down and see for his own eyes. But he had jumped and landed right outside the concert venue, and after buying a ticket off a scalper for an exorbitant price, he went inside the arena. Luckily, all the money from those genius grants came in handy.

He was in disguise, in case this world's counterpart was in the band or famous, and he didn't want to confuse anyone. Having no tattoos helped, as so many of the Zayns he had come across, whether they were in the band or not, had tattoos. Plus, he was older, with a beard and long hair, and wore loose, baggy pants and a baseball cap pulled low across his face. He didn't make eye contact, and most of the crowd tended to avoid the thirty something man with a long beard who was by himself at a One Direction concert. 

The concert started and the opening video played across the giant screens. Zayn felt both happy and sad; happy that Liam and Zayn were not only in this world together, but both were in the band, and sad that, once again, he still didn't find his Liam.

The single seat next to him was empty, and Zayn wonderd if the scalpers hadn't been able to sell another single ticket by itself. He decided to stay for a couple songs - he always enjoyed seeing how all the boys, not just Zayn and Liam, interacted on stage, and the differences between the songs and the clothes they wore from each braneworld.

The boys in the band were talking on stage, giving their thanks to Hong Kong for being an amazing city and audience, and then the fourth song started, and Zayn decided he would leave after this song. The title was 'Where do Broken Hearts Go,' and he wondered where indeed did they go, when suddenly he was jostled on his right side.

"Sorry, sorry." 

Zayn turned and saw a man, by himself, taking the sole vacant seat next to him. The man wore a hooded sweatshirt, and he had a beautiful brown beard and thick, black framed glasses, very similar to Zayn's own eye wear. Behind the glasses were brown eyes. Like melted chocolate, Zayn thought. He would know those eyes in any universe.

The man stared at him, thunderstruck, eyes wide. In the background, Zayn could hear a different version of his own voice singing.

Now I'm searching every lonely place  
Every corner calling out your name  
Tryna find you but I just don't know

Zayn felt like the world had spun to a halt. The screams of the crowd, the noise of the band. It was all there, but he felt like he was about to be swept under. He reached out and grabbed the man's arm. "Leeyum?" He whispered. The man couldn't possibly have heard him above the noise of the crowd and the band. But he nodded.

"Zayn?"

Zayn nodded, and squeezed Liam's arm hard enough to bruise.

"I. I can't -" He tried to gasp for air. He started crying. Tears streamed down his face. And then Liam enveloped him in a warm hug and the noise rushed back and he opened his mouth to fill his lungs with air. 

“There, there. Don’t cry, love. Zayn. My Zayn. We’ve found each other. We've found each other, yeah?"

“I've been looking - " Zayn heaved in another breath, but he couldn't stop crying. “I’ve been looking for so long. Years. Leeyum. Years. I've been traveling across worlds looking for years since I was fifteen.”

Liam pulled back, an incredulous look on his face.

“Zayn. I - I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry you’ve been looking for so long. This is my - hundredth and first world. I just figured out how to jump between braneworlds last year, and I - I’m so sorry you’ve been looking for so long. God. I’m so sorry it took me so long to figure out how-”

Zayn cut him off with a kiss. Liam’s lips were soft, like he always knew they would be. 

 

Zayn looked up from the book, the first chapter at an end, with tears streaming down his face. He wiped his eyes. 

 

Eight days later, Zayn was back at school and spring break was over. It was nice to see the familiar faces of his fellow teachers, staff, and students after the last harrowing day where no one recognized him in his own school. Before he knew why of course. He felt like he had aged a lifetime in the short time since his adventure. 

He sat in the dreary staff room eating his sad sandwich. It didn't feel real, after the technicolor dream he spent with Liam. Only, it wasn't a dream so much as a brief interlude into his daily routine. Zayn looked sadly at his sandwich; it wasn't even a metaphor anymore - he knew he had outgrown more than just his sandwich.

Sarah stuck her head into the staff room. 

"Zayn, Coveys needs to see you right away in his office."

Zayn got up and followed Sarah down the hallway to the office. He was so lost in his own head and wistful thoughts that he almost didn't notice her giggly order to "Go ahead to his office, he's waiting for you with a visitor."

He turned at the last moment to see her wink at him, and he didn't even have time to wonder because when he walked through the heavy doors, he didn't even register the ancient headmaster sitting behind his huge desk, he only had eyes for Liam, sitting in a chair, who turned when Zayn entered the room, a huge smile lighting up his face. He stood up and went to Zayn, hand outstretched. 

"Nice to see you again, Mr. Malik." Liam's eyes sparkled, they really did. He shook Zayn's hand, and then leaned close and whispered in Zayn's ear. "I'm sorry it took so long, Zayn, I was stuck in London. And I was an idiot who didn't get your number. But I'm here now." He pulled back and turned to Coveys.

"Mr. Coveys, it was great speaking with you. Since I requested Mr. Malik here be in charge of the new arts program at Hanson, we have a lot to discuss. Do you mind if I steal him away for an hour? I'd like to tell him my thoughts over coffee." Here he turned to Zayn. "If that's ok with you, of course."

"Uh, yeah. Um, sure. Coffee." Zayn tried to catch up but his head spun.

"Thank you for your time today," Liam said to the headmaster, gracious as always.

"Thank you for your generosity, Mr. Payne. The students will be thrilled."

Zayn followed Liam out of the room, through the front office, and down the hallway to the front doors of the school.

"Do you know anywhere around here we could get coffee?" Liam turned to Zayn and held the door open. 

Zayn walked into the bright sunshine and down the school steps, where the black Ferrari glinted in the midday sun. Deja vu. But the good kind, he thought. "I know a place, yeah."

Liam grabbed his hand, for a brief moment, and gave it a squeeze. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go."

And they drove off, the future wide open.

 

Coda - Three months later

 

"So what do you think?"

Zayn turned to Liam, squinting in the bright sun. "What do I think of what?"

Liam rolled his eyes and gestured around to the expanse of sand all around them. Their very own private beach. In the Maldives. Liam had insisted on taking him, apparently taking Liam and Zayn 2.0's advice to heart. Zayn had tried to downplay his excitement for the vacation, but secretly he found it terribly romantic. He had brought a copy of "Finding Love in Every Dimension," and the previous night had read the first chapter out loud to Liam as the sun set and the ocean waves lapped softly against the shore, the background noise to the rise and fall of Zayn's words. Liam had cried, and Zayn had held him. 

"Eh. You've seen one beach, you've seen them all."

"How dare you-" Liam started to giggle when Zayn rolled off his towel and onto Liam's, then crawled on top of him, straddling his lap.

He leaned forward and kissed Liam.

"Zayn, I'm so glad we - I'm just glad everything happened. The way that it did."

He reached forward and grabbed Zayn, who happily pressed himself into the tight embrace, and kissed him again.

"Thanks for coming to find out who I was. You really are brave."

Liam grinned up at him. "I'll always come find you."

"We'll find each other," Zayn corrected. He felt happy and light and the world was brightly colored. 

Liam kissed his nose. "That we will."

They leaned forward and kissed, all lips and tongue and sweetness, and then there was a bright flash of silver. Everything went black.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and Kudos are life, thank you!!


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